The Montclair State Redhawks (8-6) hosted a matchup Wednesday night at Panzer Athletic Center with their crosstown rivals, the Kean Cougars (10-5).
Entering the game, the Red Hawks would be without Steve Breeman, the team's leading scorer averaging 17 points per game and nearly 40% on shooting from beyond the arch.
In the first ten minutes of the game, both teams exchanged fastbreak points and trips to foul line, however for the remaining thirty minutes, Montclair State held the lead and never looked back. Filling in Breeman’s shoes tonight was Junior Greg Ecks. Ecks led the team in scoring with 16 points and converted on all three of his three point shot attempts.
The most the Red Hawks led by was 11 points. Then with about six minutes remaining, Kean’s senior guard Jailen Jamison rallied the Cougars by going on a 12-2 run including a three pointer, a fastbreak layup, and a steal for an additional layup. Jamison led all scores and set his season high with 24 points on the night.
The Red Hawks lead was just a single point with a minute and a half to go until sophomore guard Kiernan Flanagan put the game away with an “AND1” score. Despite the lead only being four points at that point, the Red Hawks played the clock by taking the air out of the ball and hitting their final foul shots to seal the deal.
“We needed to pick it up tonight without having Steve. (Breeman),” Montclair State junior guard Greg Ecks said. “We came out flat last time, this time we shared the ball, shot well, and the result showed.”
After this game, both teams evened out their conference record in the NJAC standings at 5-5. Kean still has the one spot edge over Montclair with their overall record being 10-5 while the Red Hawks are 8-6 on the year.
Up Next For Montclair State
Montclair State will be without Breeman for their next contest as well as they get ready to host another rival in TCNJ on Saturday at 1pm. The Cougars will head back home as well as they prepare for Rowan University on Saturday at 1pm.
- Montclair State falls to Hamilton in Division III NCAA Tournament - March 5, 2023
- Montclair State knocks out NJCU to advance to NJAC semi-finals - February 19, 2023
- Montclair Hangs On for Victory Over Kean Cougars - February 11, 2023
