Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State men's basketball team closed out the 2017 calendar year with a game for the record books as the Red Hawks exploded for a 103-46 win over Manhattanville in the championship game of the Gelston/Paskert Holiday Tournament at the Panzer Athletic Center on Friday afternoon.
Senior guard Daniel Ramis connected for five three-pointers and 15 points leading five players in double figures as the Red Hawks (9-3), captured their fourth straight while posting its largest margin of victory in 34 years. Freshman guard Myles Mitchell-White finished with 14 points while sophomore guard Drew Walker had 13 in seven minute of action.
Senior guard Jovanni Chatham was named the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Mitchell-White. The Red Hawks topped the 100-point mark for the second time this season and hit triple-digits at home for the first time since a 100-73 win against Berkeley College in the title game of the Team Hill Holiday Classic.
MSU's 57-point margin of victory was it largest since a 108-48 victory against Kean at home on December 3, 1983. Montclair State shot 56 percent (37-66) from the field, including 20-of-29 in the second half and hit 14 three-point field goals in the game (14-of-24).
Montclair stormed out of the game with the first 12 points of the game. Mitchell-White and Jordan Roberson scored layups in the first minute and a Justin Porter jumper made it 7-0. Senior Jarrett Bogus finished off the opening run with the final five points for the 12-0 advantage with 15:36 left.
Eddie Emedoh, who finished with 10 points boosted the lead to 26-5 on a putback with nine minutes left in the first half and a free throw from Chatham gave Montclair a 36-10 lead with just over four minutes to go. The Valiants (6-5), scored eight of the next 10 points however Ramis and Kaan Yilmaz drilled three-pointers in the final minute for a 44-18 lead at the break.
Bogus finished with nine points and eight rebounds while Yilmaz added eight and four caroms. Porter chipped in with eight points, four rebounds and four assists while Roberson totaled seven points and four rebounds. Twelve different players got into the scoring act as MSU got 55 points from its reserves.
The Red Hawks are now off until Wednesday, January 3 when it returns to NJAC play. MSU, 3-2 in the league, heads to New Jersey City University for a scheduled 8pm matchup with the 19th-ranked Gothic Knights.