MONTCLAIR, NJ – Ja’Zere Noel scored 24 points to lead six players in double figures as Rowan held off Montclair State, 109-103, in NJAC men’s basketball action. Rowan (11-3; 8-0 NJAC) tied its highest scoring total of the year, while going over the 100-point mark for the sixth time in winning its fourth straight.
Noel tallied 24 in 27 minutes of action while recording 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Andrew Seager scored 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting with Marcellus Ross connecting on 4-of-7 shots for 16 points. Ahmad Bickley reached a career-high with 12 points, Connor Dickerson chipped in with 11 and Stretch Hawkins hit for 10 points in the win.
With Rowan leading 104-95 at 1:23 after four straight points from Dickerson, MSU’s Greg Eck hit a three at :56 to pull the Red Hawks within 104-98. Seager hit a pair of free throws at :41 and Keyon Pryce knocked down a three-pointer at :30 to keep MSU in the game, 106-101. Seager made another free throw at :13 and a layup by Kieran Flanagan cut the Red Hawks’ deficit to 107-103, but Rowan was able to seal the win as Dickerson converted two from the foul line at :04.
Rowan led by as much as 19, 78-59, midway through the second half, but Montclair State made its run with nine minutes left, outscoring the Profs 11-6 to cut its deficit to 92-83. The Profs answered with four straight from Ross and Seager to build back the double-digit lead, until a three-point play from Price saw Montclair State trailing by only 98-89 at 4:43.
Noel hit a jumper to give Rowan a 100-91 lead before MSU would go 4-for-4 from the foul line and come within 100-95 at 2:39.
The game was tight throughout most of the first half until Stretch Hawkins scored five straight to give the Profs a 31-26 lead and they never trailed from there. A three-pointer from Dickerson and back-to-back threes from Ross built the Profs’ lead to double digits, 44-34, with 5:20 left. Dickerson’s, two straight field goals from Ahmad Bickley and a pair of free throws by Damian Smith helped the Profs to take a 52-39 lead at halftime.
The Profs were on target in the first half, converting 58.3 percent from the field while hitting 6-of-11 three-point attempts. They cooled off from long range in the second half, however, and made only 1-of-11 from behind the arc while MSU heated up, making 10-of-21 threes.
Rowan, which remains the only team in the NJAC without a conference loss, will be on the road again on Saturday when it visits Rutgers-Newark in an 8 p.m. start.
