UNION, N.J. (11/22/16) – The Kean University men's basketball team led for more than half the game but ultimately fell 62-54 to NJAC foe Montclair State University in both teams' first conference action of the season on Tuesday night.
The Cougars raced out to a 9-3 lead. Kean was getting good looks; every Cougar point was scored in the paint, with the exception of Jodrell Thompson's free throw as he finished up an and-1 play.
Click here to see highlights from Tuesday's game
Midway through the first half, Keenan Williams Jr. picked off a Montclair pass and took it coast-to-coast from a 13-10 lead. That sparked an MSU timeout, but Michael Summerer converted an old-fashioned three-pointer before Williams swished a long three to extend the Kean lead to seven after the timeout.
Kean led for 90 percent of the first half, but the Red Hawks pulled ahead in the final minute to take a 27-26 lead into the locker room. Kean shot 61 percent from the floor in the first half, but MSU's performance at the free throw line provided the difference.
Early in the second period, Summerer (pictured left) made another tough layup while being fouled to swing the lead back to Kean, 33-32. From that time, Montclair went on a 7-0 run to build its largest lead of the game – nine points. The Cougars worked to whittle it down in the ensuing minutes.
With eight minutes remaining, Denzel Washington anticipated a pass across the top of the key, intercepted it and took it to the hole to cut the Red Hawk lead down to one. After an MSU bucket, Justin Watson hit a runner to keep Kean within one as the clock ticked down.
In the end, there was not enough time to complete the comeback for the Cougars; they did not help themselves by shooting 31 percent from the free throw line during the game.
Brandon Channer paced the visitors with 21 points and eight rebounds – both figures led all players in the game. The contest featured one tie and five lead changes. Montclair earned its first win and is now 1-2. Kean fell to 0-4 on the season.
The Cougars will enjoy a week-long break for Thanksgiving before returning home on Wednesday host Rutgers-Newark in an NJAC game at 8 p.m.
