2023-24 MSU Mens Basketball Season Recap:

The Montclair State Men’s basketball season has just come to an end, after a loss against Stockton in the NJAC semifinals. Despite that, the team still had a great season as they went 18-9, beating some of the best teams in their division. This is a recap of the MSU 2023-2024 men’s basketball season. The players started the season off hot as they won their first two games of the season, against Lycoming and Penn College. Mike Jackson and Kunga Tsering led the team in points in those games, with Jackson putting up 20 points and 5 rebounds in the opener, and Tsering having 22 points and 6 rebounds against Penn College, while also hitting the game winning layup. After suffering a close loss against Albertus Magnus, where they lost 86-83, they defeated New Jersey City in another close game which ended in a 1 point victory after going to overtime. Keyon Price had a solid game with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, while also hitting the game free throw to give Montclair the win. They then faced off against Rutgers-Newark, a game where Mike Jackson had a 21 point double-double, but they unfortunately took the loss. Despite that, they got a win in their next game against Rutgers-Camden, as Kyree Henree took charge with 23 points while also hitting 7 threes. They started a small winning streak as they got two more wins against William Patterson and TCNJ. Mike Jackson led the team in scoring in both games, and put up a triple double against William Patterson. The team’s winning streak broke on December 13th against Ramapo college, as they lost 84-72. Kieran Flanagan had a good game as he had 19 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds on good efficiency. However, they went on to have another small three game win streak, as they had victories over Centenary, Penn State – Abington, and Muhlenberg. Mike Jackson had an amazing double-double against Centenary with
28 points and 13 rebounds. Keyon Price and Kunga Tsering both had good performances against Penn State as the team won convincingly. Against Muhlenberg, Mike Jackson put up another triple double with 21 points and 13 rebounds.

The new year did not come with a great start for the team as they went on a three game losing streak. They took losses against DeSales, Stockton, and Rowan. However, they countered those losses with the biggest winning streak of the season as they went on to win 6 straight, as they defeated Kean, New Jersey City, Rutgers-Camden, Rutgers-Newark, TCNJ and William Paterson. Mike Jackson had a season high of 37 points against New Jersey City, and Samar Abdullah also had a 20 point outing as the team blew New Jersey City out by beating them 107-81. Kieran Flanagan and Keyon Price put up 17 each against Rutgers Newark in a 10 point win. Mike Jackson and Kieran Flanagan both had over 20 points against TCNJ, as the team won by 12 points. Unfortunately, the team’s winning streak ended on February 3rd against Stockton, where they lost 91-81. Ahmed Robertson put up 20 points on just 9 shots in the loss. Getting closer to the NJAC tournament, the team won two of their last three games, defeating Ramapo and Rowan. They scored their most points of the season against Rowan with 113, as Mike Jackson put up 33 points and Keyon Price had 28, with Francisco Paulino also having a double double.

After a great season, the MSU men’s basketball team finished third in their conference, just behind Stockton and Rowan. Their first game in the NJAC tournament was against Kean University. They had a dominating performance against Kean, with Kunga Tsering and Keyon Price leading the team offensively
after a combined 39 points, winning the game 90-79. Unfortunately, that was the team’s last win of the season as they lost in the NJAC semifinals against Stockton on February 21st. Keyon Price had a 28 point game, along with 15 from Kunga Tsering, however it was not enough to win the game as they lost 91-77. Despite the loss, the Montclair State men’s basketball team still had a great season, as they went 12-6 in their conference and 18-9 overall. They were able to make it all the way to the NJAC semifinals, as the
team shined throughout the entire season.