An emerging threat in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) has risen as the Montclair State University Red Hawks defeated the defending NJAC champions, the Ramapo College Roadrunners, in front of a raucous Panzer Athletic Center crowd on Friday, Nov. 30.
With this win, Montclair State is off to a 6-1 start, the team’s best start since the 2010-2011 season. Despite the Red Hawks great start to the season, nobody expected this type of an upset to a team that reached the NCAA Men’s Division III Final Four the year prior.
Big NJAC men’s basketball matchup at 8pm at Panzer Athletic Center as the Red Hawks take on undefeated Ramapo! Live updates will be provided as we go! pic.twitter.com/4p4vTvMANr
— The Montclarion (@TheMontclarion) November 29, 2018
Starting from tip-off, the Red Hawks played like they were hungry for this win. They kept it extremely close throughout the first half with great perimeter defense. Despite this, Montclair State’s offense wasn’t able to explode until later in the first half, when they went on a 12-3 run that was capped off by a huge three-pointer by sophomore forward Joseph Radi.
The Red Hawks were able to maintain the lead at the end of the first half, with the score being 40-26 at the break.
Montclair State benefited not only from the great perimeter defense, but their tremendous rebounding throughout the first half. They scored on several second chance points in the first half as Ramapo struggled to box out Montclair State’s forwards and big men. Junior forward/center Eddie Emedoh was a force on both sides of the ball, scoring 14 points and grabbing seven rebounds.
Montclair State also benefited from tremendous play from their bench, with key role players Joseph Radi (10 points) and Irving Callender IV (12 points, six rebounds), providing the Red Hawks with a huge spark throughout the game, especially in the first half.
Possible upset 👀 on the horizon here at Panzer Athletic Center as the Red Hawks lead the Roadrunners 40-26 at the end of the first half! pic.twitter.com/oS5TTCgLhH
— The Montclarion (@TheMontclarion) November 29, 2018
Emedoh credited the win to how well the team has been practicing.
“Coach Sears always tell us the harder we practice, the harder we’ll smack them,” Emedoh said.
The second half was more of the same, despite Ramapo shooting much better from the field. They continued to struggle to defend Montclair State’s high-powered offense, with star player Abkar Hoffman coming alive after a slow first half, scoring 17 points in the second half alone. Montclair State used another great offensive half to put away Ramapo, 95-75.
This win wasn’t just another ordinary NJAC victory, as they defeated arguably one of the better teams in the entire mid-Atlantic region. This was a major upset victory for a team that had modest but not extremely high expectations coming into the season.
Upset complete! Montclair State takes down Ramapo 95-75! Article coming soon! pic.twitter.com/G2HFNSJBsJ
— The Montclarion (@TheMontclarion) November 29, 2018
Emedoh thinks that this victory will be huge going into the road stretch.
“We really just want to build off this big win, since we have a big road game against Kean University to prepare for,” Emedoh said.
The Red Hawks will have two more home games this week before they hit the road for the Roosevelt 21st Greyhounds Classic.
