MONTCLAIR, N.J – The Montclair State University Men’s Basketball team was victorious against Rowan University Wednesday night in a game that would go on to be a thriller decided at the buzzer.
The Red Hawks came into the contest on a 3-game winning streak and were looking to seek revenge against Rowan, who defeated the Red Hawks 107-102 earlier in the season in late November.
The first half was a seesaw battle as both teams went back and forth tying and exchanging leads. Both teams struggled to shoot from the perimeter, but were successful attacking the rim and playing with pace. After a mini run, the Red Hawks ended the first half ahead of Rowan, 42-37 behind a strong effort by Sophomore guard Ahmad Robertson – leading the way with 14 points.
The second half mirrored the first as both teams exchanged leads back and forth like two world class boxers fighting a heavyweight bout.
With roughly 30 seconds remaining, the Red Hawks found themselves at the free-throw line up by one with a chance to create some separation.
Unfortunately, the Red Hawks missed the one in one, giving Rowan a chance to take the lead. After a missed three point attempt by Rowan, the Red Hawks found themselves back at the line with another one and one opportunity with five seconds remaining. Again, Montclair State was unable to convert the one and one. Rowan retrieved the rebound and called timeout to advance the ball, giving them an opportunity to win the game with 1.9 seconds remaining.
After a creative inbounds play, Rowan guard Brycen Williams converted a three-pointer at the buzzer that looked to be the game-winner, leaving everyone in Panzer flabbergasted as Rowan’s players and staff cheerfully stormed the court embracing Williams. However, with such little time remaining, the referees went to the monitors to confirm that Williams got the shot off in time.
The officials determined that Montclair State had won after a long video review. Photo Courtesy of Montclair State Athletics
After an anticipated wait that lasted about 10 minutes, Panzer erupted as the referees concluded that Williams did not get the shot off in time, giving the Red Hawks the victory.
Red Hawks’ guard Robertson – the game’s leading scorer with 18, seemingly knew that Williams did not get the shot off in time.
“My heart kind of dropped a little bit, but I knew he kind of didn’t get it off,” Robertson said. “I heard the horn go off while he still had the ball in his hand,”
Robertson was a key contributor for the Red Hawks in the contest. With their leading scorer Mike Jackson in foul trouble for the majority of the contest and key complementary pieces Kunga Tsering and Samar Abdullah out due to injury, Robertson provided a major spark for the team.
Montclair State Head Coach Justin Potts applauded Robertson’s play after the game.
“[Robertson] is a guy who has the ability to be one of the better players in the league, we got to get more consistency out of him for sure,” coach Potts said. “He is really talented, he can shoot, put the ball on the floor, plays above the rim, he just has to keep growing and developing and be more consistent everyday. But tonight he showed flashes of what he’s capable of and when he has it going he is really tough to defend.”
Alongside Robertson, Junior forward Jacob Morales provided 14 points while freshman forward Myles Primas chipped in with 8.
With the win, the Red Hawks extended their win streak to four. Photo Courtesy of Montclair State Athletics
With the win, the Red Hawks extended their win streak to 4, boosting their record to 12-5 overall and 7-3 in league play – placing them in a four-way tie for first place alongside Stockon, Ramapo and Kean.
