Montclair, NJ – Senior guard J.J. Hladik (Bayonne, NJ / St. Peter's Prep) tied the game with seven seconds remaining in regulation and junior guard Tommy Soulias (Milltown, NJ /Spotswood) scored 10 of his game-high 31 points in the OT as Kean University outlasted Montclair State 81-78 at the Panzer Athletic Center on Wednesday evening.

Junior guard Mike Diamond (Phillipsburg, NJ / Phillipsburg) scored 16 points as the Cougars (4-13, 2-8 NJAC) rallied from five points down in the final 1:35 to snap a six-game losing streak.

Freshman guard Lavrone Green (Teaneck, NJ / Teaneck) had 22 points off the bench for Montclair State (5-10, 2-8 NJAC), which has dropped three straight while also having its two-game winning streak against Kean halted.

MSU's Devyn Ransom (Jersey City, NJ / Marist), who finished with a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds, hit once from the line giving Montclair a 67-62 lead with 95 seconds left but Soulias trimmed that to two points with a basket and free throw after being fouled. MSU turned the ball over and Diamond was fouled with 41 seconds. He made 1-of-2 making it 67-66 and the Cougars fouled Green who also made one free keeping the game at two points, 68-66.

Ransom came up with a rebound and two foul shots from Loften-Harris with 23 seconds gave MSU a 70-66 advantage. Soulias was fouled with :14 left and hit his first free throw. He missed the second but followed the miss with a rebound which eventually came out to the top of the key for Hladik, who drained the triple tying the game at 70-70.

In the overtime, after trading points, Soulias converted another three-point play giving Kean a 75-72 lead with 2:46 remaining. Chris Torres (Oakland, NJ / Indian Hills) answered with a basket for Montclair but Soulias again came up big with a long three from the left side extending the Cougar lead to 78-74 with 1:38 left.

Erick Loften-Harris (Union, NJ / Union) hit once from the foul line as did Diamond before Green connected on a three-point with 32 seconds for a 79-78 Kean lead. The Cougars failed on an opportunity to ice the game missing two free throws with 19 second left however Montclair was unable to capitalize as Green's three-pointer with three seconds hit off the side of the rim.

Soulias made two foul shots at the other end for the three-point lead which held up as Montclair's half-court heave at the buzzer bounced off the rim.

After allowing the  first basket of the contest, Kean grabbed the lead on a Soulias jumper with 18:53 to go and held on to that advantage building a lead of 10-point lead with 4:45 to play as Timothy Bradley (Staten Island, NY / Monsignor Farrell) scored making it 32-22. Montclair State would battle back and cut the deficit to 35-34 as Green connected twice from the line with four ticks to go before half.

Ransom gave the Red Hawks the lead 47 seconds into the second half however that was quickly erased by another Diamond three-pointer putting Kean in front 38-36. The advantage would grow to 57-50 on Diamond's three with 8:01 left before the Red Hawks staged a 16-3 run over the next three-plus minutes.

Green connected on a pair of three's and Torres buried one from behind the arc giving MSU the lead 61-60 with 4:53 left. A jumper by Ransom and three-pointer by Loften –Harris put the Red Hawks up 66-60 with 3:03 remaining.

Hladik finished with 12 points while Emmanuel Omowole (North Brunswick, NJ / North Brunswick) added 10 points and six rebounds. Tim Steward (Dayton, OH/West Carrollton) had five points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Jerome Hilton (Jersey City, NJ / Snyder) had 17 points for Montclair State, including five three-pointers. Loften-Harris collected 12 points along with seven assists.

Both teams are back in action on Saturday, January 24 with home NJAC games. Montclair State hosts The College of New Jersey at 1:00 pm while the Cougars entertain New Jersey City University at the same time.