B.J. Hamby (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) had 19 points to lead four Cougars in double figures as Kean (7-8, 4-5 NJAC) won its four straight. Gian Paul Gonzalez (North Haledon, NJ/Manchester Regional) had 22 points for Montclair State (8-7, 5-5 NJAC), which held a 57-46 lead in the second half.
Jonathan Arthur (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) converted a three-point play to give the Red Hawks the 11-point lead, however, Kean began to chip away as Wright scored on a layup and Brett Wyatt (Elizabeth, NJ/St. Mary’s) hit two free throws to cut the lead to 57-50 with 9:04 left. Two more free throws by Arthur would boost the lead back to eight (60-52), but Hamby scored on a layup and Wright buried a three to cut the deficit to 70-67 wit 7:01 left. Arthur again answered for Montclair State with a jumper, however, Wright countered with four straight to bring Kean within 62-61 with 5:07 remaining. Gonzalez’ jumper gave Montclair State a 64-61 advantage before Kean scored the next six points to take the lead for good. Wright capped off the spurt with a jumper from the left side with 2:43 to play.
Arthur would make get MSU within 67-66, but Armet Coles, Jr. (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter’s) nailed a jumper and Wright drained another three with 1:29 left as Kean led 72-67.
Bryan Keller (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway) finished with 15 points and seven rebounds for the Cougars, who sizzled from the floor in the second half connecting on 17-of-25 from the floor (68 percent) Kean finished the game at 56.3 percent (27-of-48), including 7-of-13 from the behind the arc. Coles added 13 points and seven rebounds as the Cougars outrebounded MSU, 36-23.
Arthur and Maurice Torres (Summit, NJ/Summit) had 17 points apiece for Montclair State. Arthur pulled down nine rebounds and four assists while Jamal Ford (Secuacus, NJ/Secaucus) added 12 points, four rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Montclair State returns to action on Saturday, January 21 as they compete in the Castle Classic at Manhattanville College. MSU will face Lincoln (PA) in the first round at 7:00 pm.