MONTCLAIR, NJ – Senior guard Youngor Kehleay (Eatontown, NJ/Monmouth Regional) had a career-high 18 points on six 3-point field goals, but Montclair State snapped the Scarlet Raiders' six-game winning streak with a 61-53 decision in the MSU Student Recreation Center.
NCAA Box Score & Play-by-Play
Kehleay drained six of 15 shots from beyond the arc and senior guard Bimpe Fageyinbo (Morris Plains, NJ/Parsippany Hills) added 14 points, a game-high five assists and five rebounds, but Rutgers-Newark (8-7, NJAC 2-2) fell to the red-hot Red Hawks (10-4, NJAC 5-0) who won their ninth straight game.
Fageyinbo had eight points and Kehleay, six, as the Raiders forged a 28-26 halftime edge, but MSU shot a torrid 63.1% (14-22) in the second half to storm to the victory.
Junior center Courtney Vacca (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills) hauled down 10 rebounds to help the Raiders control the boards, 41-32, but the Raiders shot just 34.9% from the floor for the game. Vacca added six points, three assists and a game-high four blocked shots.
Freshman forward Shatanay McCaskill (Paterson, NJ/Passaic County Tech) notched seven points, five rebounds and two steals for Rutgers-Newark.
With 4:03 left in the opening period, the game turned when high-scoring freshman guard Jared Tactuck (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) went down with an ankle sprain after scoring a fastbreak layup which put the Raiders up, 20-17. R-N's leading scorer left the floor for the remainder of the half and lasted less than two minutes while trying to return in the second period.
For MSU, sophomore forward Jaime Erickson netted six of her 10 points during the Red Hawks' 11-3 run to open the second half.
The Red Hawks' balanced attack was led by junior Catherine Cristino who netted 14 points. Kisandra Ayanbeku added 11 points and five rebounds for MSU which got nine points apiece from Jackie Berry and Marianne McGovern. Berry tied Vacca with a game-high 10 rebounds. Jamilee Pflug notched eight points for the Red Hawks.
The Raiders host The College of New Jersey in an NJAC doubleheader in The Golden Dome on Saturday. The women tip off at 5:30 p.m. with the men to follow at 7:30.
