Jackson leads Montclair State past TCNJ, 71-53

Basketball, College, Montclair State University

January 23, 2022

At the Panzer Athletic Center, the Montclair State Red Hawks (9-6) took on the TCNJ Lions (6-8) Saturday afternoon.

The Red Hawks leading scorer, Steve Breeman returned from a COVID-19 diagnosis in this game, logging just five minutes and going 0-4 from the field.

The bigger story in the game was Red Hawks freshman Mike Jackson. Jackson came off the bench as a sixth man for the Red Hawks, picking up extra minutes originally designated for Breeman. Jackson scored a career-high 18 points, shooting 6-14 from the field, and added five rebounds.

“I just stayed after practice, staying in the gym, and now I’m thankful that I’m here.” Jackson said, “I would just be in there by myself shooting, waiting for my moment.”

Jackson led the charge for Montclair as they rolled past TCNJ 71-53 in this contest. In the previous game in Ewing, the Red Hawks lost in a one-point nail biter 88-87, but this time was vastly different.

TCNJ struggled offensively as they only shot 4-for-25 from beyond the arc while Montclair shot 11-for-31. The Red Hawks established a ten-point lead ten minutes into the game. While the Lions were jockeying with that lead throughout, they never gained the advantage in the remaining 30 minutes.

That ten-point lead eventually turned into a 20 point lead for the Red Hawks following a sequence of back-to-back three-pointers for Kieran Flanagan (6 points) and a three-point play for Keyon Price (11 points) to ultimately seal the deal.

Montclair State finally climbed above the .500 mark in NJAC conference play, improving to 6-5, while TCNJ has dropped to 3-8 in conference play.

TCNJ will look to get back on track Wednesday as they will host Rutgers-Camden, who has one win in conference play. Montclair State will head out to Mahwah to take on Ramapo College, who sits at 3-8 in conference play.