Jonathan Arthur (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) posted a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Red Hawks (3-4) won for the first time since November 22. Kelvin Luna (West Hempstead, NY/Flushing) had 24 points for the Dolphins, who fell to 4-3 on the season.
Both teams see-sawed for the first 12 minutes of action, exchanging the lead ten times before the Red Hawks took the lead for good with 8:19 left to play as Torres drained one of his six three-pointers for a 24-23 lead. A layup by CSI’s Tefra Tor-Agbidye (Stewartsville, NJ/Phillipsburg) made the score 34-32 with 2:40 left before halftime, but the Red Hawks closed out the half with a 10-2 run to take a 44-35 advantage.
In the second half, Luna would hit a jumper with 14:16 to play to cut MSU’s lead to 54-46, however, the Red Hawks responded with a 13-3 run over the next four minutes to put the game away. Torres began the run with a three-pointer and Arthur added eight straight points, including consecutive trifectas, before Gonzalez sank a pair of foul shots to give Montclair State a 67-49 with 10:39 to go.
Jamal Ford (Secaucus, NJ/Secaucus) had eight points and three assists for the Red Hawks, who dominated on the boards outrebounding the Dolphins, 53-31, including a 20-8 advantage on the offensive glass. Gonzalez, who went 11-of-11 from the free throw line in the game, now has 975 points in his MSU career leaving him 25 shy of becoming the 23rd player in Montclair State history to score 1,000 points.
Mike Comick (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills) had 15 points for Staten Island while Gari Blackett (Brooklyn, NY/Brooklyn Academy) added 13 and nine rebounds.
Montclair State is now off until December 29 when they host the Steve Adubato One-on-One Classic at Panzer Gymnasium. MSU will face Bridgewater State (MA) in the second game at 7:00 pm with Keen State (NH) facing Plattsburgh (NY) in the other semifinal at 5:00 pm. The Dolphins will now enjoy some time off before heading into the 4th Annual Tournament of Heroes Tournament. The Tournament will begin on Thursday, December 29th as New York University takes on Westfield State College at 5:30pm. CSI will tip-off against Emmanuel College in the tournament's second game, scheduled for 7:30pm