For a while on Wednesday night, Panzer Athletic Center felt like it was holding its breath.
Montclair State had just watched a tied game turn into a problem. Rowan opened the second half with eight straight points, pushed the lead to double digits soon after, and suddenly the Red Hawks were chasing the NJAC semifinal instead of controlling it. The shots that rained in during the first half slowed down, the margin grew, and the pressure started to feel real.
Then Montclair did what great teams do when the stakes get loud. It answered. Fast.
Behind a 32-7 stretch that flipped the entire night, the No. 6 Red Hawks stormed back to defeat Rowan 89-75 on Wednesday, set a new program record with their 25th win, and punched their ticket to the NJAC Championship game for the second straight season.
And now the stage gets even bigger. Montclair will host second-seeded TCNJ on Saturday, February 28 at 1 p.m., with the conference title on the line. It will be the third meeting between the teams this year, after they split the season series. TCNJ also handed Montclair its first and only loss of the season to close the regular season, which adds a little extra fuel to what was already a trophy game.
This one, though, was about survival first. Montclair took Rowan’s best punch, fell behind by 12 in the second half, and still found a way to win going away.
“Incredible environment in Panzer tonight, appreciate everyone coming out to support,” head coach Justin Potts said. “Credit to Rowan, I thought they played great. I’m proud of our guys for their ability to respond in the second half. Excited to see everyone back in Panzer on Saturday.”
A first half that turned into a shootout
Montclair started the night like it wanted to run Rowan right out of the building.
Myles Primas threw down the first statement with a dunk, Cristian Nicholson followed with a three, and Kabrien Goss joined the party almost immediately. Two minutes in, Montclair led 8-2 and the building was already moving.
Rowan did not fold. The Profs kept getting to the paint, kept earning free throws, and kept answering every time it looked like Montclair might separate. Still, the Red Hawks’ outside shooting in the first half was hard to ignore. They hit 10 of 18 threes before halftime, a number that usually wins you a game by itself.
Goss was the main reason. He buried another pair to make it 19-13 near the 14-minute mark, then later drilled another to push the lead to double digits. Jacob Morales and Ahmad Robertson added threes of their own, and for stretches the Red Hawks looked like they were playing with a magnet in the rim.
But Rowan stayed within reach by being steady and physical. Khalil Baker kept scoring around the basket, Taz Cantey controlled pace and found teammates, and Khamai Orange hit timely shots. Rowan also lived at the line late in the half, connecting on five of six free throws in the final minutes to pull even.
Halftime score: 42-42.
It felt like the kind of game where the first team to blink might not get another chance.
Rowan lands first after the break
Rowan came out of the locker room like it had solved something.
The Profs scored the first eight points of the second half, turning a tie into a 50-42 lead and forcing Montclair to take a timeout. The flow of the game changed fast. Montclair’s threes were not falling at the same rate, Rowan’s confidence rose, and the Red Hawks suddenly needed a spark to stop the slide.
Christian Cevis helped with a layup coming out of the stoppage, and Primas nailed a corner three shortly after to trim the gap. Still, Rowan kept pushing. After Montclair got within a possession, Rowan ripped off another eight-point burst to build its biggest lead of the night, 12 points, with just under 13 minutes left.
That was the moment the game could have slipped.
Instead, it turned into the moment Montclair woke up.
The run that changed everything
The Red Hawks did not win this game with one shot. They won it with a wave.
Cevis hit a three off a pass from Kunga Tsering. Ryan Cassels jumped a passing lane, created a turnover, and knocked down a three of his own. Those plays did not just cut the lead. They changed the energy.
Then Nicholson poured gas on it.
He converted an and-one, and that bucket kicked off a 17-0 run that felt like it lasted all night, even though it really took about five and a half minutes. Montclair attacked the rim, crashed the glass, got out in transition, and made Rowan feel every turnover.
This was not just hot shooting. It was pressure. Montclair forced 19 turnovers and turned them into points. Every mistake Rowan made seemed to become a fast break, a kick-out three, or a second chance finish.
Primas threw down another dunk off a turnover with 4:31 remaining, the kind that makes a crowd roar before the ball even hits the floor. Morales hit a three to stretch the lead again. Nicholson added a jumper late. When Rowan tried one last time to creep back within striking distance, Montclair stayed calm at the line, hitting all six of its free throws in the final seconds to close the door.
Final score: Montclair 89, Rowan 75.
Goss sets the tone, Primas owns the glass
The box score tells the story of Montclair’s balance, but it starts with Goss.
He led all scorers with 25 points and hit a career-high seven three-pointers. When Montclair needed an answer early, it was him. When the second half started slipping, it was his steady presence that kept the Red Hawks from panicking. And when the run was rolling, his shots made it feel unstoppable.
Morales finished with 14 points and continued a strong stretch, scoring in double figures for the seventh straight game. Nicholson added 12 points and four assists, and he also made some of the biggest plays during the comeback, including the and-one that helped launch the game-changing run.
Primas had one of the most important stat lines on the floor: 11 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double. He also grabbed five offensive rebounds, which mattered a lot in a game that swung on effort and extra chances. Montclair finished with 20 offensive rebounds and 18 second-chance points, and Primas was a big reason why.
Cevis did a little of everything, and Cassels gave Montclair a real lift off the bench with two threes and energy that showed up in the turnover column.
For Rowan, Baker scored 20 points, Cantey had 18 with six assists, and Orange added 14 while hitting all three of his threes. Rowan shot well overall, but the turnovers and Montclair’s surge were too much to survive.
More than a win, it’s a season marker
This victory had layers.
It was an NJAC semifinal, so it came with the obvious prize: a spot in the conference championship game. It also pushed Montclair into history. With win No. 25, the Red Hawks set a new program record for wins in a single season, passing the mark set by the 1968-69 team.
It was also a big postseason step against a familiar conference opponent. Montclair has now won at least one game in each of the past five NJAC tournaments, and this was the first postseason win over Rowan since 2018.
But the biggest layer is what comes next.
Saturday is not just another game. It is a chance at a trophy, at home, against the only team that has beaten Montclair all season.
The stakes for Saturday vs TCNJ
Montclair will host TCNJ for the NJAC Championship on February 28 at 1 p.m., and it is hard to draw it up with more tension.
It is the third meeting this season. The teams split the first two. And TCNJ delivered Montclair’s only loss of the year, a result that ended the regular season and reminded everyone that “undefeated” is never promised in March.
Now Montclair has the chance to answer it in the biggest way possible, with a title on the line.
It is also a shot at history in its own right. The Red Hawks are going for their second straight NJAC championship appearance, something the program has not done since 1994-95, and they can cap it with a tournament win that would mean even more because of who is on the other side.
The ending that sticks
The best part about Wednesday was not just the comeback. It was the look on Montclair’s face while it was happening.
Down 12, the Red Hawks did not rush shots. They did not point fingers. They leaned into defense, ran the floor, and trusted the next play. That is what made the run feel so sharp and so real. It looked like a team that knows what time of year it is.
Now the season is down to one game for a championship. Panzer will be full again. The opponent is the one team that has taken Montclair down. The record book already has this group’s name in it, but Saturday is about something better than numbers.
It is about finishing the job, in the same building where they just proved they can take a hit, answer back, and turn a tight night into a celebration.
