Montclair State Wins in tight OT Win vs. NJCU
Written by mccormacke1 on November 27, 2023
By Earl Spence
It was a packed crowd filled with 523 people in attendance Tuesday night at 7:30. It was an electric crowd as it was a nail biter until the very end. The two threes made at the end of regulation by Savoy and Bron were able to force overtime. Pryce made the clutch free throw to make it a one point lead for the Red Hawks and Brown had shot to win the game but barely missed it to give the Red Hawks the win.
The Red Hawks had four players scoring over 15 points. Those players being Keyon Pryce, Mike Jackson, Kieran Flanagan, and Kunga Tsering. Mike Jackson leads the team in scoring averaging 18 points per game and also leading the team in minutes averaging 31 minutes a night. Pryce had a season high of 18 that game and they needed every single one of those buckets out of him. Montclair State struggled shooting the ball from the field. As a team they shot 35% from the field and 16% from the three point line. They scored 26 points off the turnovers they forced defending NJCU. The Red Hawk defense forced 26 turnovers against NJCU. Defense was a big part of why the Red Hawk were able to have the game close and close out with the win.
NJCU had five different players scoring in double figures. Ryan Savoy and Will Brown III each had 20 or over 20 points in a losing effort. Avante Gilbert leads the team in scoring averaging 14 points a game. They also have 3 other players averaging over double figures. As a team NJCU shot 44% from the field and 25% from the three point line but it was not enough.
Last night was their 180th matchup all time. The Red Hawk had 100 wins to 80 losses. Their first matchup dated all the way back in 1933. It was a low scoring affair being a 32-23 win for the Red Hawks. The last 10 matchups is a record of 6-4 going to the Red Hawks. Montclair State has won the past 5 matchups in a row. This rivalry has been happening for 100 years and it will continue to come for years.
The Red Hawks improve to 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in NJAC. They go into thanksgiving break feeling pretty thankful for the win and get a nice break. NJCU comes off their 3rd straight loss and looks to comeback to end their losing streak on November 27 against Farmingdale State at 6:00 pm. Montclair State Red Hawks have eight days off and they face off against Rutgers-Newark at home on November 29th at 7:30. In their last matchup against Rutgers-Newark they won the game in a 21 point blowout 71-50. They face Rutgers-Camden next on December 2nd in Camden, NJ.
