Box Score
Senior day insert

Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey men's basketball team dropped a 68-58 decision in its season finale to Montclair State University on Wednesday night in Packer Hall.

The Lions closed out the 2013-14 campaign with an 8-17 overall record and 6-12 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. The Red Hawks improved to 11-13 and 8-10 in league play to stay alive in the NJAC playoff hunt.

Junior Jayson Johnson (Bordentown, NJ/Life Center Academy) led the Lions with 13 points. Sophomore Bobby Brackett (Lawrence, NJ/Lawrence) finished with nine points and 12 rebounds. Senior Joe Kane (Cinnaminson, NJ/Holy Cross), playing in his final game for TCNJ, also finished with nine points and grabbed four boards.

Senior Daniel Singleton (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Ordel Goldson (Hackettstown, NJ/Warren Hills) tallied 19 points and collected eight rebounds. Junior Chris Torres (Oakland, NJ/Indian Hills) had a strong all-around game, posting a double double with 11 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.

Both teams shot better than 45 percent in the opening period. The Lions held the lead for just under 10 minutes until Angel Gonzalez (Ocala, FL/Meadowbrook Academy) pulled up and drained a three-pointer with 10:23 left in the half to take a 16-13 lead.

TCNJ trailed by with 3:28 remaining in the half, but layups by junior Alex Fox (Washington, NJ/Westwood) and Brackett cut the deficit to one point. MSU did not allow a basket the rest of the period and held a 29-27 advantage at the break.

Play remained even through the first eight minutes of the second half. The Red Hawks held a 42-40 lead, but a steal by junior Darius Griffin, Jr. (Piscataway, NJ/Bishop Ahr) followed by a terrific over-the-shoulder pass from junior Emanuel Matlock (Trenton, NJ/Solebury to Fox tied up the game as Fox rolled the ball through the hoop.

A historic highlight came at the 9:22 mark of the second half when Brackett collected his ninth board of the game and 324^th of the season. With that rebound, he broke the single-season record held by Paul Brateris '67 that stood for 49 years. Brateris, who was inducted into TCNJ's Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame this past fall, set the record of 323 during the 1964-65 season. Brackett and Brateris are the only two Lions to ever reach 300 rebounds in a season.

Brackett ranks fourth nationally in rebounds per game this season at 13.1. He now owns the program record for rebounds in a season with 327.

Singleton knocked down a long three-pointer with 5:53 to stake the Red Hawks with their largest lead of the game at 53-47. The Lions responded with a Johnson layup and a pair of free throws, but Gonzalez rattled off six straight points to push ahead 59-51 with 3:13 remaining.

TCNJ battled, but there was not enough time on the clock to catch the Red Hawks as they registered their 11^th victory of the year.

Freshman Eric Klacik (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) and Fox each netted nine points. Matlock finished with five points and two steals.

Gonzalez added 12 points and six boards in the win.