Gonzalez went 10-for-10 from the free throw line and also collected a team-leading 11 rebounds in leading Montclair State to a victory in its 2004-05 season opener, after the Red Hawks finished 13-10 overall last winter. Senior guard Nick Pelotte (Bingham, ME) scored a game-high 27 points for Plymouth State (1-1), including the Panthers’ first 18 points of the afternoon, in staking PSU to an 18-7 lead. Pelotte shot 9-for-19 from the field on the day, including 6-for-11 from three-point range, before fouling out with 1:51 remaining in regulation, just three seconds after Gonzalez recorded his fifth foul of the day.
Junior guard Rashad Butler (Nassau, Bahamas) scored 21 points for the Red Hawks and added nine rebounds, five assists and four steals, while senior forward Michael Gluck (Union, NJ) finished with 13 points for MSU, including 11 in the second half, and six boards. Sophomore forward Andreas Pope (Brooklyn, NY) registered 13 points and six rebounds for Plymouth State, as classmate Mike Walcek (Dover, NH) had 11 points and a team-best eight rebounds.
The Panthers led by as much as 27-10 before the Red Hawks used a 12-2 run to pull within 31-26 with just under six minutes remaining in the opening half. MSU then stretched that run to 19-4 to take a 35-33 lead with 3:36 remaining, en route to a 43-37 halftime advantage. PSU then scored the first nine points of the second half to go up, 46-43, but Montclair then tallied the next six points, taking the lead for good on a jump shot by Butler with 15:55 left. MSU then held PSU without a point for nearly five minutes on the way to a 64-52 advantage with 6:48 left.
The Classic closes tomorrow when MSU hosts Centenary College at 3:00 p.m. at Panzer Gym. Centenary fell to Plymouth State, 116-79, on Friday evening in both teams’ 2004-05 opener.