Junior Jonathan Arthur (Maplewoood, NJ/Columbia) added a double-double with 17 points and 16 rebounds as the Red Hawks squared their record at 9-9 overall, 3-5 in the NJAC's North Division.
Junior guard Mario Lancioni (Runnemede, NJ/Triton) had 24 points for Richard Stockton, which fell to 13-7 overall, 4-4 in the NJAC South Division. The loss also denied Osprey coach Gerry Matthews his 400th career victory.
The Red Hawks, who also got a 14-point performance off the bench from freshman Donald Reid (Pert Amboy, NJ/Cardinal McCarey), trailed 18-3 with just under 12 minutes left in the first half and did not take their first lead until 13 minutes to play as Reid drained a three-pointer for a 46-44 lead. After the teams traded points, Lancioni gave Stockton its final lead at 57-56 with a three-pointer, however Montclair went on a 12-1 run over the next two minutes to build a 68-58 advantage on Garan Dickson's (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) layup with 5:31 to go.
Richard Stockton would whittle the lead back to two points with 32 seconds remaining as Jon Greene (Wildwood, NJ/Wildwood) scored on a layup. Montclair State would then close out the game going 5-of-6 at the free throw line to seal its second straight win against the Ospreys.
After the teams traded the first baskets of the game, Richard Stockton went on a 16-1 run over the next seven minutes to take and 18-3 advantage. Greene has six points in the run while Lancioni added four. Byrne came off the bench and ignited a 12-0 Montclair run with consecutive three-pointers as MSU trimmed the lead to nine. A three-point play by Eric Sylvester (Orange, NJ/Orange) made the score 18-14 with 8:36 to go. Arthur finished off a fast-break, trimming the lead to two before Byrne’s jumped with 7:22 to go tied the score.
The game would get knotted up four more times in the opening period, the final coming with 2:16 left as Sylvester scored on a basket for a 32-32 deadlock. Greene and Derrick Williams (Atlantic City, NJ/Atlantic City) would collect baskets for Stockton as the Ospreys led 36-33 at halftime.
Freshman Ken Dudley (Willingboro, NJ/Burlington Tech) finished with 14 points, eight assists and four steals for Montclair State, which shot a scorching 17-of-23 (73 percent) from the field in the second half while also making 11-of-18 from the charity stripe. Byrne had five rebounds and three assists while Sylvester chipped in with nine points and four rebounds off the bench.
Greene finished with 22 points, nine rebounds, four assists and five steals for Richard Stockton, which shot 43 percent (14-of-32) in the second half and finished the game 30-of-62 (48 percent) from the floor.
Both teams return to action on Wednesday, January 31. The Red Hawks will host NJAC intra-divisional and local rival William Paterson in an 8:00 pm matchup at Panzer Gym while Richard Stockton will try to get Matthews his 400th victory as the Ospreys host Rutgers-Camden in Pomona, NJ at the same time.