For the second time in three years, the Montclair State University men’s basketball team has started a season with three straight wins, after defeating DeSales University in a thrilling come-from-behind win
The home opener, which the Red Hawks won 89-79, was the Red Hawk’s first win over the Bulldogs in program history.
The home opener was the Red Hawk's first win over the Bulldogs in program history. | Photo Courtesy of Montclair State Athletics
Head coach Justin Potts said that the speed and tenacity of his team brought Montclair State to victory.
“When you play the way we play, when you run, press, and play fast, you are going to get opportunities,” said Potts. “We stayed with it long enough to get our run at the end of the game. I give our guys a lot of credit for staying in it.”
Graduate guard Kieran Flanagan got the game going, scoring off a layup that was stolen by freshman guard Kabrien Goss.
Goss led the team with four steals, and he has six steals in total to start the season.
Flanagan finished the game scoring 15 points and shot 100% from the field, his first time ever scoring 100% from the field in his collegiate career.
The Red Hawks were looking strong going off a 7-2 run against the Bulldogs in the But the Bulldogs would go on a 7-0 run to make the score 17-12.
At the 10-minute mark, it was a back-and-forth affair between the two sides, but two big threes by senior guard Luis Armas gave Montclair State the 20-19 lead.
However, DeSales came back with eight points in a row to take a three-point lead at 6:28. As the half came to a close, the Bulldogs kept up their pressure, extending their lead to 11 points at 3:39.
But despite the big lead by the Bulldogs, the Red Hawks would start a late run in the first half; the run would begin with a three-pointer from junior guard Christian Cevis.
Red Hawks began to come back when senior forward Grant Holbrook tipped in an offensive rebound on the following play. Sophomore guard Ahmad Robertson made a fast break layup to bring Montclair State within four points.
With 1:21 left in the half, two big steals from Cevis and Robertson led to two easy scores for guard Mike Jackson.
In the last seconds of the half, Goss made a jumper to give the Red Hawks a 38-36 lead going into halftime.
DeSales emerged from the break with a seven-point run in the first five minutes. On the next play, Cevis responded with a three-pointer, and Junior Forward Kunga Tsering nailed two free throws to cut the deficit to only two points.
The Bulldogs would continue to keep driving to the basket and score points off the fast break and push their lead to 70-62.
With less than six minutes left in the second half, Jackson would knock down a big three to cut the deficit to four. The Bulldogs would get fouled and knock down both the free throws to make it 79-73.
Montclair State had less than five minutes to make a comeback. Flanagan would make a layup, and off a steal, Robertson relayed the ball to Cevis for a layup.
After some incredible defense, Montclair State would cause DeSales to miss another shot, and Robertson would pull up a jumper to tie the game at 79. The Red Hawks forced another stop, and Robertson grabbed the rebound and drove the ball all the way down the basket to give the Red Hawks the 81-79 lead with 3:16 left.
The Red Hawks did not look back, controlling the game the rest of the way. Jackson said that the new players meshed well with the veterans.
“Me being a leader just guiding them and talking to them, even if they make a mistake, just telling them to move on and get it on the defensive end,” Jackson said. “We are all going to make mistakes. We can’t let the mistakes dictate us; we just need to play Montclair State basketball.”
Jackson added that the coaching staff did a great job getting the team ready for the game.
“Coach had us in the locker saying we need to ‘impose your will,’ said Jackson. “We all had each other’s backs and stayed connected. We all fought together to get the win. Staying focused and staying stone cold for 40 mins is hard to do, and that’s what we all did today.”
Jackson would finish his day with 28 points, shooting 67% from the field, and has scored at least 20 points in two of the last three games. He said that beating the Bulldogs was important to him.
“Today was revenge,” said Jackson. “For three years we haven’t beaten DeSales, but today was an important one for us to go impose our will to overcome that obstacle.“
Montclair State defeated DeSales 89-79. | Photo Courtesy of Montclair State Athletics
Potts said that he’s excited about the team’s future.
“This is the deepest team we’ve had since being here,” Potts said. “You can see that when we are subbing five at a time, I think as long as we stay healthy, we have guys coming back from injury. I really think if we are 11-12 deep, the depth is going to be a weapon for us.”
