Cyclones Fall To Montclair State In Comfort Inn Holiday Classic Final

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. (December 30, 2011) – A day after defeating St. Joseph's of Brooklyn to advance to the Comfort Inn Holiday Classic Championship game, the Cyclones found the Red Hawks of Montclair State too much to handle, dropping the tournament final 87-64.

Centenary fell victim to cold shooting from beyond the three point line, shooting 1-12 in the first half as Montclair State built its lead. The Cyclones fought back in the opening half behind junior Warren Murphy (Ridgefield Park, N.J./Ridgefield Park) and senior Larry Lenahan (South Amboy, N.J./South Amboy) who contributed seven and six points respectively in the half. Montclair, however, led by the eventual tournament MVP Andrew August went into the half leading 38-30.

The Red Hawks opened the second half with four consecutive points before sophomore Kyle Malavasi (Asbury, N.J./North Hunterdon) found Lenahan under the basket for a layup to cut the lead to ten, but it was Montclair State who controlled the paint for most of the game. August and Ordel Goldson combined for 26 rebounds for the Red Hawks as MSU stretched their lead slowly behind strong shooting.

The Cyclones never found their form from beyond the three point line, shooting 3-20 on the night leading to their first home loss of the season.  Warren Murphy was named to the Comfort Inn Holiday Inn Classic All-Tournament Team for his efforts. Murphy tallied 30 points over the two games along with six assists in the tournament.

With the loss, Centenary drops to 6-6 on the season and will next play Neumann University when the Cyclones host the Colonial States Athletic Conference opponent on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 2 pm.