Montclair, NJ – Junior guard Shaun Russell scored 22 points and added five rebounds, four assists and four steals as Montclair State fended off several Hunter College rallies in the second half for a 78-69 win at the Panzer Athletic Center on Sunday afternoon.
Junior guard Eric Loften-Harris chipped in with 17 points, four rebounds and six assists as the Red Hawks remained unbeaten, upping its record to 4-0 on the year. It is the best start for MSU since winning its first eight games of the 2009-10 season.
Montclair also posted its fifth straight victory over Hunter as it now leads the all-time series, 5-1.
Sophomore guard Gerard Carty scored 18 points for the Hawks, who fell to 0-7 with the loss.
The Red Hawks trailed just once in the game as Matt Franks drained a three-pointer with 15:17 left for an 8-7 Hunter advantage. Loften-Harris answered at the other end with a three of his own en route to a 14-point first half. His second triple with 10:29 to play made the score 13-9 however Amer Lukac answered immediately cutting the lead back to one.
Loften-Harris' third three-pointer of the half gave MSU some breathing room at 16-12 but Hunter kept battling and got within 20-19 with 6:59 left when Carty hit from short range. MSU then took control with a 14-3 run over the next three minutes. Jaquae Wilson started the run with a dunk on the break and a three-point play by Devyn Ransom gave the Red Hawks a 27-19 advantage.
Brandon Channer, who finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, scored the final six points in the spurt as Montclair led 34-22 with 3:25 left before halftime. A layup from Jordan Roberson with 59 seconds left put Montclair in front by 12 before Carty's layup made the score 40-30 in favor of MSU at the break.
A Russell three-pointer 94 seconds into the second half gave Montclair State its largest lead at 47-32 however Hunter chipped away getting within 49-42 with 15 minutes to play on a layup by Lukac. Wilson countered with a three-pointer, and a three by Aaron Williams boosted the lead back to 59-46 with 12:25 remaining.
The Hawks refused to go away getting within 67-60 on a layup from Carty. Jarrett Bogus answered with a three-pointer for MSU but Hunter managed to get within 70-64 after Robert Bourasiewicz made one from the line with 3:55 left.
Russelle hit from behind the arc to get the lead to nine but Alex Mattina scored on a layup with 1:46 to go pulling Hunter within 73-67. But Bogus delivered a back-breaking blow drilling a three from the top of the key with a minute left for a 76-67 advantage.
Bogus finished with six points and four rebounds off the bench for MSU which hit 11 times from three-point range. Williams and Wilson had five points apiece with Ransom collecting four points and seven rebounds. Montclair held a 45-35 edge on the boards, including 17 offensive caroms that turned into 19 second-chance points compared to just five for Hunter.
Montclair State returns to action on Wednesday, December 2 when it begins a two-game NJAC road trip. The Red Hawks will be at Rutgers-Newark on Wednesday for an 8pm matchup with the Scarlet Raiders. Montclair State then heads to Mahwah, NJ on Saturday, December 5 taking on Ramapo College at 3:00 pm.