Box Score
MONTCLAIR, NJ – The Montclair State University men’s basketball team defeated Rowan University, 79-74 in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) game on Saturday afternoon.
The Red Hawks are 15-4 overall and 5-2 in the conference. The Profs have an 8-10 record with a 2-5 NJAC mark. Forward Andrew August (sr. Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) led Montclair State with 23 points and 15 rebounds. Forward Ordel Goldson (so. Hackettstown, NJ/Warren Hills) followed with 21 points and a game-high 17 boards. Guard Daniel Singleton (so. Neptune, NJ/Neptune) posted 20 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Guard Ken Rubenstein (jr. South Orange, NJ/Columbia) contributed with 11 points.
For Rowan, guard Rich McNamara (so. Southampton, NJ/Seneca) collected 21 points and five rebounds. Guard Phil Jackson (so. Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) scored a career best 20 points and blocked three shots. Guard Jason Rosenberg (so. Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) accumulated 14 points and seven assists. Center Dee Benson (so. Somerdale, NJ/Sterling) compiled 10 points and eight boards.
Montclair State had a 36-33 halftime lead. In the second stanza, Rosenberg hit a jumper at 19:24 to bring Rowan within one (36-35). The Red Hawks scored 10 consecutive points for an 11 point advantage (46-35) at the 16 minute mark. August scored four points, Rubenstein made a three-pointer, Goldson added two and guard Dwight Bostic (fr. Roselle, NJ/Abraham Clark) sunk a foul shot. Montclair State was ahead, 50-40 after two free throws by Singleton at 14:31. Jackson (13:48) and Rosenberg (13:27) had back-to-back layups to cut the deficit to six (50-40). Goldson’s jumper at 10:07 stretched the lead to eight (55-47). Rowan trailed by five (55-50) following a free throw by Benson (9:55) and a layup by Jackson (9:34). August hit two foul shots at 8:31 and 8:00 to go up, 61-52. Singleton had a basket at 6:20 to make the score, 65-54.
With 4:51 remaining, the Red Hawks were on top, 69-58. The Profs scored the next seven points to pull within four (69-65) at 3:41. Rosenberg made a three-pointer (4:25), forward Jason Sofman (so. West Milford, NJ/West Milford) had two free throws (4:09) and McNamara nailed a jumper (3:41). Goldson recorded a layup (3:18) and a dunk (2:33) and August sunk one foul shot (1:36) for a nine point advantage (74-65). Jackson’s three-pointer at 1:22 brought Rowan within six (74-68). Goldson scored on a layup (1:11) and Bostic hit one of two free throws (:21). Rowan was down six (77-71) after Jackson’s three-pointer with 15 seconds left. Goldson converted two foul shots (:13) and Benson hit a three (:01) to end the game. Goldson and August totaled 16 and 15 points respectively in the half.
In the first period, Rowan jumped out to a 13-4 lead over the first 5:54. Benson and McNamara each scored four points, Jackson hit a three-pointer and Rosenberg added a basket. Montclair State answered with a 7-0 spurt to pull within two (13-11) at 12:29. Singleton scored four of the seven points and Goldson had three. The Profs went up by nine (20-11) after a three-pointer by Jackson (12:19) and two field goals by McNamara (11:06, 10:25). The Red Hawks had an 8-0 surge to trail by one (20-19) at 9:06. Singleton and Rubenstein each had a three and Bostic added a jumper.
Benson recorded a layup (7:58) and McNamara followed with a three-pointer (7:26) to increase the advantage to six (27-21). Montclair State had six straight points to tie the game at 27 with 5:07 on the clock. Goldson (7:07), Singleton (6:27) and Rubenstein (5:07) all had a basket. Sofman scored on a layup at 3:33. Rubenstein’s three-pointer at 3:02 gave the Red Hawks their first lead, 30-29. Montclair State was ahead by five after a layup by Singleton (2:19) and two free throws by August (1:47). Singleton’s jumper at 1:13 made the score, 36-31. Jackson had a layup at the one minute mark to bring Rowan within three (36-33) at the intermission. Singleton registered 13 points in the first half. McNamara had 11 points for the Profs.
Rowan travels to NJAC opponent Rutgers-Camden on Wednesday, January 25 at 8 p.m.
