Montclair, NJ – Senior forward Chris Gross scored 22 points as Rowan University held off a second-half comeback from Montclair State for an 83-76 victory at the Panzer Athletic Center on Wednesday evening.
Freshman guard Nick DePersia added 19 points and was one of four players in double figures as the Profs (5-8, 2-4 NJAC) posted their third consecutive victory following a six-game losing streak and upped its current win streak against Montclair State to four games.
Junior guard Erick Loften-Harris finished with 17 points, six rebounds, seven assists and four steals for the Red Hawks, who lost their third straight and fell for the seventh time in their last eight games. MSU is now 5-7 overall, 2-4 in the NJAC.
Gross had 10 points with DePersia and Shawn Wilson each getting nine as the Profs took a 45-31 lead at halftime. Rowan trailed 6-4 with 17:22 to play in the opening period before embarking on a 17-5 run over the next six minutes to build a 21-11 lead with 11:08 left on a Gross layup. Kris O'Connor later added a three –pointer to extend the lead to 26-14 and Dan Brogan's putback with 6:13 to play made the score 30-15.
Loften-Harris connected from behind the arc with 43 seconds before halftime to cut the lead to 42-31 however DePersia answered that with a three of his own as Rowan took the 14-point lead into the locker room.
In the second half, DePersia gave the Profs their largest lead at 57-39 on a layup with 15 minutes left however Montclair countered with a 21-3 run in the next six minutes getting within 62-60 on a Brandon Channer three-pointer. After Rowan pushed the lead back to 66-60, Montclair scored six of the next seven points, the last on a tip-in by Devyn Ransom with 5:40 to go making the score 67-66.
MSU would get within one point twice more, the last coming with 2:11 to go as Loften-Harris made a steal and fed Russell for a layup to get Montclair to 73-72. But Gross answered with a layup igniting a seven-point Rowan run which was capped off by Brogan's free throw with 25 seconds left giving the Profs an 80-72 advantage.
Brogan finished with 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench while Wilson totaled 13 points and seven rebounds. Rob DePersia posted six points, five assists and four steals for Rowan, which took advantage of a 22-12 margin in free throws. Rowan shot 48 percent from the field (27-of-56) for the game, including 51 percent (18-of-35) in the first half.
Russell led Montclair State with 19 points along with three assists. Jaleel Christmon added eight points and six rebounds with Ransom contributing seven points and six rebounds in a reserve role. MSU shot 41 percent from the floor (28-of-68) and was 12-of-20 at the foul line.
The Red Hawks are back in action on Saturday, January 9 when it heads to Camden, NJ to face Rutgers-Camden at 3:00 pm.