Montclair, NJ – Junior Jarrett Bogus scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds as Montclair State clinched a berth in the upcoming New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament with a 70-63 victory over The College of New Jersey on Saturday.

Sophomore Jordan Roberson posted a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds while senior Brandon Channer added 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists for the Red Hawks, who evened their record at 12-12 overall.

MSU also upped its record to 9-8 in the conference qualifying for the NJAC postseason tournament for the first time in three years (2014). Montclair will play in a first-round game on Saturday, November 18 against an opponent to be determined. The Red Hawks are currently tied with Stockton for fifth place with both teams trailing Rowan for fourth.

Montclair State is on the road for its regular-season finale on Wednesday, February 15 while Stockton, which holds the tiebreaker over MSU (2 head-to-head wins), is at New Jersey City University.

Things didn't start off well for the Red Hawks as TCNJ scored the first five points and connected four times from behind the arc for a 15-5 advantage four minutes into the contest. Justin Porter stemmed the tide for MSU igniting a 13-2 run over the next five minutes giving Montclair its first lead at 18-17.

The Lions (17-7, 13-4 NJAC) went back on top and stayed there until 6:22 to play when Bogus scored inside for a 27-26 MSU lead. The basket was part of a 14-5 half-ending spurt for Montclair which took a 36-32 lead into halftime. Bogus had eight of the points with Channer's bucket before the buzzer capping it off.

A Roberson putback early in the second half extended Montclair's lead to 43-38 however TCNJ's Eric Klacik brought deficit to 45-44 with a reverse layup. The Red Hawks advantage stayed within five points until six minutes left when Channer drilled a three-pointer on the left side for a 55-49 lead.

Channer, one of four seniors honored prior to the game, scored inside giving Montclair State a 61-51 lead with 2:48 left with Jovanni Chatham following up with layup getting the lead to 12 points. TCNJ would trim the lead back to 68-63 with 20 seconds left however Channer sank two from the line to seal the victory for MSU.

Chatham and Daniel Ramis each had eight points with Chatham adding four assists. Montclair used its advantage from the foul line where it made 19-of-27 compared to just 4-of-8 by the Lions. The Red Hawks also enjoyed a 46-35 edge on the points with Porter pulling down six.