MONTCLAIR, NJ–On Friday night, after watching a good deal of the scrimmage between Metuchen and Rutgers Prep, GMC Hoops traveled up north to Montclair State University to see the Red Hawks take on the Dolphins from the College of Staten Island in a Division III college hoops tilt.
Despite getting a late start on its trip, the site managed to get to the gym right before the opening tip. There are a number of players on the Montclair State squad that have their roots in the Greater Middlesex Conference. Middlesex County College transfers Rodney Freeney (Piscataway) and Sean Ogunnoiki (Edison) as well as senior John Byrne (East Brunswick) and freshman Robert Jackson (Carteret). Rutgers Prep graduate and freshman forward, David McDaniel, played JV ball on St. Joseph’s.
Coming into the contest, Montclair had won 5 of its first 8 games including two of their first three in NJAC competition. The Red Hawks soundly defeated Kean (66-44) after knocking off Rutgers-Newark on the road (71-67). MSU also almost came back to stun Ramapo. The Roadrunners had a 20 point lead with about 15 minutes to play before the Red Hawks rallied to only lose by three, 75-72.
CSI, meanwhile, have been up and down for the most part, going 3-4 overall including a 1-1 mark in the CUNY league. The Dolphins entered the contest coming off a solid 81-66 victory at home over Drew University. Montclair State also has talent from other parts of the Central Jersey area including Tom Bonard (Westfield), Sean Young (Scotch Plains), and Tyler McKinnon (Howell). The Red Hawks are coached by Ted Fiore, who coached at the Division I level at St. Peter’s College, and led the Peacocks to NCAA berths in 1991 and 1995, has compiled a 171-104 record at MSU including a 92-73 mark in the NJAC.
Montclair State controlled the game for the most part, but couldn’t really put CSI away until the second half when the Red Hawks built up a 53-40 lead. Even then, the Dolphins wouldn’t go away. The Staten Island school, which has only one player from New Jersey, Jordan Young of Wall Township, trailed 66-55 with about two minutes remaining, but got five straight points in less than 30 seconds, and closed the gap to 66-60 at the 1:41 mark before Paul Siljee (game high 23 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal) got two free throws, and Daniel McRae (a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds) came up with a block on the defensive end, and finished up at the offensive end with a dunk that put the game out of reach at 70-60 with 1:09 to go.
The first half was mostly low scoring with Monclair gaining a 28-27 advantage at halftime. MSU had a couple leads of six points, and one seven point lead, but the Dolphins rallied with an 8-2 run to close out the first half. There were five lead changes and a tie in just the first 3:57 of the contest, but from there, the Red Hawks were in control. Siljee led Montclair State with 8 first half points while East Orange’s Ali Mix (17 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal) chipped in with 7 points including a three pointer at the 17:09 mark for a 6-5 lead. McDaniel got a short jumper in the paint and Byrne got a layup to account for the GMC scoring in the first half.
In the second half, there was a great deal more scoring with a combined 93 points, but the Red Hawks got the lion’s share with a 50-43 edge that preserved the victory. Jackson started the second half for Montclair, but the Carteret native, known for getting a ton of double-doubles during his high school career, came out a bit overanxious, and missed a couple layups while picking up three quick fouls. Leading the way for CSI was Michael Ledbetter, a 6’7″ junior from Susan Wagner, who compiled a monster double-double of a team high 22 points and 15 rebounds. He posed a significant problem for the likes of Jackson, McDaniel, and McRae as well as Young.
Out of all the GMC players on the MSU roster, Byrne played the best with 10 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist in 19 minutes of playing time. The former East Brunswick standout, connected on 8 of 10 from the foul line along with a field goal. Siljee chipped in with 10 of 12 from the charity stripe as the Red Hawks went 27 of 41 overall for 66 percent while the College of Staten Island went only 9 of 20. McDaniel ended up with only 7 points, but grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked 3 shots. Montclair went 23 of 57 from the floor including 5 of 14 from long distance while CSI went 27 of 62 including 7 of 25 from downtown. The officials also didn’t take too kindly with the CSI bench assessing a technical foul at the 10:23 mark that led to two Byrne free throws. McRae followed that up with a steal, and then dribbled through traffic upcourt for the layup and the Red Hawks biggest lead of the game.
Those two sequences capped a 19-7 run that turned a slim 34-33 lead into a 53-40 advantage for the Red Hawks. McRae also had a layup at the 14:28 mark while Mix added one of his own at the 12:31 mark for a 42-35 lead. After a score by Ledbetter, McDaniel drained his only three of the game on a jumper from the right side at the 11:43 mark to make the score, 45-37. Following a Dolphin three, Siljee added a jumper and Byrne made two foul shots for a 49-40 lead with 10:36 remaining. With the victory, Montclair improved to 6-3 overall while CSI dropped to 3-5. More details will be forthcoming in an game summary. In the meantime, view the box score as well as the recap on the game courtesy of Montclair State Athletics.