Khalil Baker scored 20 points but Rowan’s upset bid fell short as #6 Montclair State rallied from a 12-point deficit to defeat Rowan, 89-75, in the semifinals of the NJAC Men’s Basketball Championship. The season comes to an end for Rowan (10-17) while Montclair State moves on to face TCNJ in the title game on Saturday.
Baker shot a season-best 8-for-13 from the field to record a new career-high. Taz Cantey had 18 points, six assists and five steals in his final game as a Prof with fellow senior Brycen Williams scoring 12 points and picking up four steals. Khamai Orange scored 14 points and posted a career-high six steals as Rowan forced the Red Hawks into 23 turnovers.
With Rowan leading, 63-51, at 12:59 remaining, Montclair State went on a decisive 28-5 run that spanned nine minutes. The Red Hawks made 10-of-16 field goals, with five three-pointers and picked up seven steals to overtake the Profs. A three by Jacob Morales ended the run and the home team had a 79-68 lead with 3:21 remaining. Rowan could get no closer and saw MSU finish it out with six free throws in the final :44.
The game saw each team hold double-digit leads early on. Montclair State jumped out first and went up on Rowan, 27-17, at 11:35 of the first half. The Profs outscored the Red Hawks, 19-8, with contributions from a number of players to take a 36-35 lead at 4:24. The teams would go into halftime tied at 42-42.
Cantey got Rowan going in the second half as he scored four in an 8-0 run to give the Profs a 50-42 lead. Four straight from the senior, along with a basket from Williams, built Rowan’s lead up to its largest margin of the game, 63-51, but from there, Montclair State started its game-winning rally.
Rowan shot well in the game, hitting over 50 percent in both halves, but Montclair State made 16 three-pointers to just five for the Profs.
The fifth seed in the tournament, Rowan went 9-9 in league play and reached the semifinals for the first time since 2022-23 with a quarterfinal win over NJCU.