Senior forward Luis Martinez (Passaic, NJ/Clifton) added 10 points and four rebounds as the Pioneers posted their sixth straight win against the Red Hawks in improving to 14-7 on the year, 5-4 in the conference's North Division. It was also the WPU's third straight victory at Panzer Gym.
Junior forward Jonathan Arthur (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) had 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Red Hawks, who fell to 9-10 overall, 3-6 in the North Division.
William Paterson led 22-14 at intermission, but Montclair State opened a 12-3 run to open the half and built a 28-25 lead with 12:10 to play as Arthur connected on a short jumper. The Pioneers would eventually regain the lead and held a 36-32 advantage with 7:01 left as Joseph Ellis (Newark, NJ/Newark Science) hit two free throws. Two free throws by Martinez made the score 39-37 with 4:30 to go, but freshman Charles Miller (Linden, NJ/Linden) converted a three-point play to give Montclair State what would be its final lead with 4:07 left.
Martinez quickly swung the lead back to the Pioneers on the ensuing possession as he scored from close range. Spiegel would extend the lead to three as he made a steal and drove the length of the floor for a layup with 1:42 to go. Tim Lucas (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) extended the lead to 45-40 as he hit two foul shots with 36 seconds to play. Mike Hern (Hamburg, NJ/Walkill Valley) brought the Red Hawks within three with a bucket with 23 ticks, but Ellis and Lucas each added a free throw, the second by Lucas with 10 seconds left made the score 47-42. Donald Reid (Perth Amboy, NJ/Cardinal McCarey) hit a three with :02 remaining for the final MSU score and Martinez closed out the game by connecting one from the free throw line.
Ellis finished with nine points for the Pioneers, which got six points and eight rebounds from Shawn Colwell (Irvington, NJ/Irvington). The Pioneers shot just 33 percent (18-of-54) from the field in the game and overcame a 39-29 rebounding deficit.
Miller finished with 11 points and eight rebounds for Montclair State, which held the advantage at the foul line converting 17-of-21 from the charity stripe compared to William Paterson's 9-of-15. Ken Dudley (Willingboro, NJ/Burlington Tech) had seven points and seven rebounds while Hern collected six points and four boards.
Both teams return to action on Saturday, February 3 with NJAC games in South Jersey. The Red Hawks will travel to Glassboro to face Rowan at 3:00 pm while the Pioneers will head to Pomona, NJ to face Richard Stockton at 2:00 pm.