Box Score

Montclair, NJ ...  The College of New Jersey men's basketball team lost its final game of the season as they were defeated 99-83 by Montclair State University at the Panzer Athletic Center on Wednesday night.
 
The loss brings the Lions season to a close with a 5-20 overall record, while the Red Hawks snapped a four-game losing streak to finish 8-17.
 
Junior Skeylar Ettin (Princeton, NJ/Princeton) had a huge second half, scoring all 22 of his points after the intermission. Ettin tallied 19 of the Lions first 22 points of the second half, but it was not enough to eclipse the tremendous individual performance of Red Hawk junior forward Ordel Goldsen. He finished with 30 points on 13-of-16 shooting and collected 16 rebounds in the game.
 
Sophomore Jayson Johnson (Bordentown, NJ/Life Center Academy) also had a strong outing for TCNJ, scoring 21 points and dishing out five assists. Junior Alex Fox (Washington, NJ/Westwood) and sophomore Ryan Keegan (Farmingdale, NJ/Howell) netted 10 points each. Ettin led the Lions with seven rebounds.
 
Senior William Lester (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) hit four, three-point field goals in the game to finish with a career-best 14 points. Fittingly, Lester drained the final shot of his career as time expired in the game, draining one last shot from behind the arc to cap off his tenure in a Lions' uniform.
 
The Red Hawks shot 59 percent and out-rebounded the Lions 22-14 in the opening half. They used an 11-2 run to build an 18-11 lead 14 minutes into the game. An 11-0 run increased the host advantage to 17 points, but a pair of three-pointers by Keegan and a basket and two free throws by Johnson curtailed the deficit to 46-34 at the break.
 
It took Lester seven seconds to knock down his first three-point shot. He checked in at 13:48 of the first half, drained a bucket from long distance, and then hit a second 3-pointer on his next field goal attempt to keep MSU from pulling away early on.
 
Montclair State did not lose its shooting touch in the second half. They finished 37-of-63 from the floor. Brandon Sessmons netted 21 points in the game on 9-of-15 shooting.
 
The Lions hit a season-high 11, three-pointers on 55 percent shooting from behind the arc, including a perfect three-for-three long on shot attempts from from Ettin. But they also surrendered a season-high 99 points to Goldsen and the Red Hawks.
 
On the season, Johnson, Fox, and junior Matthew Rista (Point Pleasant, NJ/St. Anthony's) averaged double digits in scoring. Fox led the team in rebounding at 3.8 per game, while Johnson led the team with 69 assists and 38 steals. Rista knocked down a team-high 44 three-point field goals and junior Joe Kane (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson) grabbed a team-best 31 offensive boards.
 
With Lester being the lone senior to graduate, the Lions return 13 players next season. Five of those returners will be seniors and seven players will have multiple seasons of experience under their belts.
 
Some season highlights included a 31-point performance by Fox in a win at Kean University. Ettin lit up the Cougars at home for 25 point in a 85-73 victory. Johnson posted 24 points, four assists, and three steals in a one point loss to 11^th-ranked Ramapo College, and freshman Mitch Miller (Ringoes, NJ/Hunterdon Central) grabbed a season-best 10 rebounds against Rutgers-Newark.