MONTCLAIR, N.J. – Junior guard Erick Loften-Harris (Brooklyn, NY/Union (NJ)) and sophomore forward Jarret Bogus (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) scored 16 and 14 points, respectively, to lead Montclair State University to an easy 89-74 victory over Rutgers University-Camden in a New Jersey Athletic Conference contest Saturday afternoon at the Panzer Athletic Center.
Bogus, who connected on 4-of-7 3-pointers and Loften-Harris, who made 2-of-3, topped MSU's long-range attack as the Red Hawks used five different players in collecting 10 3-pointers in the contest. It's the sixth time this season that MSU has collected double-digits from beyond the arc.
Montclair State, which evened its overall record at 11-11 on the year and improved to 7-8 in the NJAC, posted its second straight win and fifth in its last seven games. The Red Hawks also defeated Rutgers-Camden for the seventh straight time and now hold a dominating 50-9 advantage in the all-time series.
MSU, which never trailed in the contest, used seven 3-pointers in the first half to take control of the game. Ahead 21-16 with 11:16 left in the opening stanza, the Red Hawks made fourth consecutive three's from four different players during a 16-5 run to take a comfortable 37-21 lead at the 5:31 mark. Montclair State increased its margin to 19 points at 47-28 at the intermission.
The Red Hawks, who reached a season-high in points, crashed the boards in the second half. Montclair State, which outrebounded Rutgers-Camden 50-26 in the game, including 23 boards on the offensive end, led by as many as 27 points three times in the second half, the last at 79-52 with 7:24 left.
Junior center Jaleel Christmon (Galloway, NJ/Absegami) grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds along with eight points while reserve Jahvan Rosbia (Blackwood, NJ/Paul VI), a sophomore forward, added 11 points for the Red Hawks.
It was the 13th straight loss for Rutgers-Camden, which dropped to 2-19 on the season and 1-14 in Conference play. Raptors senior guard Jonathan Baker-Jernigan (Willingboro, N.J./BCIT-Medford) led all scorers with 21 points, including five 3-pointers, with freshman guard Elijah Robles (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) scoring 16 points, including 10 in the first half.
Montclair State continues Conference action as the Red Hawks travel to Rowan on Wednesday (2/10) while Rutgers-Camden visits the Merchant Marine Academy in a non-conference matchup on Monday (2/8).