The Red Hawks achieved a blowout victory in their season opener on the road against Lycoming College on Friday, Nov. 10. The final score of the game was 85-49 as Montclair State University started their season off on a good note.
Montclair State opened up the game by going on an 11-0 run with a couple of assists and a layup coming from senior guard Keyon Pryce. Montclair State had great ball movement and were really focused on finding the open man at all times.
Momentum began to pile up quickly as shots were falling for the Red Hawks at will. Lycoming could not figure out how to stop Montclair State from scoring and could not find a way to put points on the scoreboard either.
Markell Robinson | The Montclarion
Montclair State found themselves up by 14 points midway through the first half and continued applying pressure on Lycoming’s defense. By halftime, Montclair State had an 18-point lead, and the score at the break was 42-24.
Lycoming was going to have to come out strong if they wanted a chance to come back in this game. Montclair State never took their foot off the gas pedal and came into the second half just as fired up as they did in the first.
The Red Hawks would take part in yet another big 13-0 run with seven minutes left in the game. Their energy level was never matched and confidence continued to overflow.
The star of the game for Montclair State was junior guard Mike Jackson who had 20 points in the win. He shot 7-11 from the field and had four three-pointers as well.
Markell Robinson | The Montclarion
It was a balanced effort throughout the whole game as everyone really contributed to the scoring. There were only three players on the roster that did not get in on the scoring affair.
This game is something to be proud of, and this is the type of effort that the Red Hawks need to bring to the table every week. However, this was only game one of the weekend as Montclair State faced Penn College in game two this past Saturday, Nov. 11.
It was a totally different atmosphere as Montclair State and Penn College were going back and forth. Points were going on the scoreboard almost every second and neither side was really able to take full control of the game.
Just as the Wildcats thought that they were going to go into the second half with the lead, senior Amari Mills had a put back to level the score. The two teams were even at 46, and the Red Hawks were eager to come back out on the court for the second half.
The ending was a wild one, coming down to the final few seconds of the game. Penn College got within a point but Mills would respond back with a fast break layup, putting the Red Hawks up by three.
Penn College would not just lie down and take the loss. They responded back with a three to tie it with nine seconds on the clock, forcing Montclair State to call a timeout once they got to the front court.
Senior Kieran Flanagan would find sophomore Kunga Tsering under the net for a tough layup to get the win. It was a gutsy and clutch performance by Montclair State as they are now 2-0 to start their season.
Next week the Red Hawks take on Albertus Mangus on Nov.16, at 7 p.m. at home as they look to remain undefeated.
