News Release

Montclair, NJ — Montclair, NJ (1/8/05) -Sophomore forward Al Hawkins tallied a game-high 23 points to lead the Montclair State University men’s basketball team to a 73-49 victory today in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game at Panzer Gymnasium.

Montclair State won its fifth consecutive game to improve to 7-5 overall and 2-2 in NJAC play, while Rutgers-Camden fell to 2-11 on the year and 0-5 in the conference.

MSU junior forward Gian Paul Gonzalez contributed 19 points and a game-high 10 rebounds to the MSU cause, while senior forward Michael Gluck added 12 points and six rebounds, and junior guard Jamal Ford posted six assists and five rebounds.

Senior guard Tyrone Rucker paced Rutgers-Camden with 16 points, while junior forward Josh Kennedy finished with 11 points and five steals, and freshman guard Kenny Yu registered nine points and four assists.

The host Red Hawks started off the contest with a 9-0 lead before the visiting Scarlet Raptors came back to tie the game at 13-13 on the strength of an 8-0 run. MSU went into the locker room with a 25-22 lead at halftime despite not recording a basket for the last 5:31 of the opening half, before opening the second stanza with a 10-4 run for a 35-26 advantage en route to a 48-point period.

The Red Hawks had more points in the paint on the day (30-18) and more second-chance points (8-2), while Rutgers-Camden held the edge in points off of turnovers (17-11) and in scoring from the bench (13-9). MSU also shot 70.8 percent from the field in the second half, connecting on 17-of-24 total attempts while going 4-of-5 from three-point range, and was nearly 60 percent overall (28-of-47).

MSU hosts The College of New Jersey in NJAC action on Wednesday, Jan. 12, while Rutgers-Camden visits New Jersey City University that evening in a non-conference affair.

MSU fell in both meetings with TCNJ last season by a total of just 14 points.