Montclair, NJ (1/22/11) – Junior forward Andrew August (Bridgewater, NJ / Bridgewater-Raritan) scored 28 points and added 11 rebounds while senior guard Rodney Freeney (Piscataway, NJ / Piscataway) added 17 points as Montclair State used a solid first-half shooting effort and a quick spurt early in the second half for a 74-57 win over The College of New Jersey in an NJAC inter-divisional contest at the Panzer Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon.
Senior forward Tyrone Prewitt (Trenton, NJ / Trenton Central) added 13 points, four rebounds and three blocked shots as the Red Hawks won their third straight, improving to 15-4 on the year, 5-2 in the NJAC.
Sophomore guard Donovan Smalls (Union, NJ / Union) collected 15 points for the Lions, who dropped their sixth straight contests falling to 3-13 overall, 0-6 in the conference.
August and Freeney combined for 28 of Montclair State's 34 first-half points as the Red Hawks shots a blistering 71 percent (15-of-21), including make on 14 of its first 17 attempts en route to a 34-29 halftime advantage. Despite the torrid shooting by Montclair, the Lions were able to hold their own as they forced MSU into 13 turnovers which were converted into 14 New Jersey points. TCNJ also shot 12-of-25 from the field, including 4-of-9 from three-point range.
The Lions led by four points three times in the opening period, the last coming at 21-17 as Smalls drove the lane for a layup with 8:29 to play. Montclair State then closed out the half with a 17-8 run as Freeney and August combined for 13 of those with seven and six points, respectively. Freeney hit the go-ahead basket as his jumper with 4:37 left snapped the fifth deadlock of the half giving the Red Hawks a 28-26 advantage. There were also eight lead changes as well through the first 20 minutes.
In the second half, quick jumpers by Brian Kelly (Clark, NJ / Lawrenceville Prep) and Steve Siracusa (New Providence, NJ / New Providence) brought TCNJ within a point at 34-33. However, Montclair would score 11 of the next 13 points to restore its lead 47-35 with 15:32 remaining. August, who finished 11 of 13 from the field, scored seven points during the 11-2 spurt.
Senior guard Tom Bonard (Westfield, NJ / Westfield) had five points, three rebounds and three assists as MSU finished the game 28-of-43 from the field (65 percent) while outrebounding the Lions 32-17.
Kelly and Siracusa each had eight points for New Jersey, with Siracuse pulling down a team-best five rebounds. Kyle Rawson (Warren, NJ / Watchung Hills) added seven points off the bench.
Montclair State returns to action on Wednesday, January 26 as it travels to Jersey City, NJ for a conference game with the Gothic Knights of New Jersey City University at 8:00 pm. The Lions are back out on the court on Sunday, January 23 when they take on the Tigers of Princeton University at Jadwin Gymnasium in a 2:00 pm start.