Montclair, NJ – Junior guard Akbar Hoffman scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half as Montclair State pulled away from Ramapo College for a 95-75 victory at the Panzer Athletic Center on Wednesday evening.
Eddie Emedoh added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Red Hawks (6-1, 2-0 NJAC), who had five players reach double figures in the victory. Robert Lewis and Kashaun Barnes had 14 and 12 points respectively for the Roadrunners (5-1, 1-1 NJAC).
Ramapo took a 12-6 lead on a jumper by Lewis with 13:37 left in the first half. Montclair scored the next seven points to take the lead and the advantage went back and forth before MSU grabbed the lead for good at 17-16 on a layup on Emedoh with 9:53 to go. Jahvan Rosbia hit from three-point range extending the lead to 23-18.
Barnes sank a jumper with 6:25 left to cut the lead to 25-22 before the Red Hawks closed out the half with a 15-4 run. Joseph Radi buried a pair of three-pointer with Hoffman nailing one from behind the arc with 45 seconds left giving Montclair a 40-26 lead at the break.
Rob McWilliams scored early in the second half to get the Roadrunners within 46-34 however the Red Hawks pulled of a five-point swing as Myles Mitchell-White hit two technical free throws. Hoffman drilled a three-pointer as Montclair increased its lead to 51-34 with 16:42 to play. MSU shot 17-of-32 (53 percent) from the field in the final 20 minutes, including 8-of-15 from behind the arc (53 percent).
Irving Callender IV had 12 points and six rebounds while Justin Porter and Radi each had 10. Jordan Roberson added five points and nine rebounds with Mitchell-White and Callender registering six rebounds each.
The Red Hawks finished the evening shooting 32-of-65 (49 percent) from the field and made 13-of-28 from behind the arc. Montclair also enjoyed a 47-27 advantage on the boards, including 15 on the offensive glass that turned into 24 points. MSU also got 37 points from its bench.
Montclair State returns to action on Saturday, December 1 as it travels to Kean University to face the Cougars in a 1:00 pm NJAC matchup at Harwood Arena.