Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey men's basketball team grinded out an 82-74 victory over Montclair State University in New Jersey Athletic Conference action on Saturday in Packer Hall.
 
The Lions (11-5, 6-2 NJAC) won their third straight and fourth in five match-ups to remain in second place in the conference standings. The Red Hawks fell to 8-7 overall and 5-3 in the NJAC.
 
The Lions were deadly from outside the arc, connecting on 13-of-24 attempts (54 percent). Six different players knocked down three-point field goals, led by three apiece from senior Corey Stanford (Pittsburgh, PA/Penn Tafford) and sophomore Kevin Bloodgood (Oceanport, NJ/Shore Regional).
 
Senior Bobby Brackett (Lawrenceville, NJ/Lawrence) finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds to register his 10^th double-double of the season. He is now two points shy of reaching 1,000 career points. Junior Eric Murdock, Jr. (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater) matched a career high with 10 assists to go with 11 points.
 
TCNJ was on fire from distance in the first half. They drained nine three-pointers on 15 attempts, led by three off the finger-tips of Stanford. At one point, they hit from downtown on five straight possessions. Up 18-14 midway through the period, Stanford connected for this third triple of the half. Senior Eric Klacik (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) then hit, followed by back-to-back 3s from freshman Ryan Jensen (Manasquan, NJ/Manasquan). Bloodgood capped the outburst with his first attempt of the game and the Lions quickly built a 33-21 lead.
 
The Lions picked up where they left off in the second half. Klacik knocked down a three just 20 seconds in. Glover followed with a put-back to stretch the lead to 16.
 
MSU heated up and mounted an 11-0 run. Brandon Channer and Jarrett Bogus tallied five and four points respectively to lead the charge.
 
With their lead reduced to five points, Bloodgood deposited his second three-pointer of the contest to stop the bleeding. After a pair of Red Hawk free throws, Brackett took a feed from Murdock, Jr. and jammed it home. Bloodgood then delivered from deep again and the advantage grew back to 11 points. Bloodgood was 3-for-3 on the afternoon with nine points and two boards.
 
The Red Hawks climbed back into the match with under five minutes remaining. Channer and Vince Arfield each dropped in a pair of free throws and then Channer hit an 18-foot jumper to make it a 71-64 game. Murdock, Jr. answered after a timeout, weaving his way through traffic to bank in a layup. Brackett scored seven straight points for the Lions down the stretch to secure the home court win.
 
Stanford posted a team-high 16 points and collected six rebounds. Sophomore Jordan Glover (Lawrenceville, NJ/Lawrence) was 3-for-5 from the field and 4-of-4 from the line to finish with 12 points. The Lions 19-of-22 from the charity stripe in the game.
 
Channer led all scorers with 26 points and Arfield added 15.
 
The Lions return to the hardwood on Wednesday when they visit Rutgers University-Camden for an 8 p.m. conference showdown.