but falls to Ramapo in NCAA action
The men's basketball team celebrates following a double-overtime win,
86-84, over Ramapo College in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship
Game. Senior guard Ben Martinez scored the winning basket with 1.9 seconds
remaining to give the Red Hawks their first conference crown since 1982.
The men's basketball team, the 2003 New Jersey Athletic
Conference (NJAC) champions, unfortunately fell to Ramapo College, 89-80,
in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Sectional
Final in Wooster, Ohio on Friday.
It was the first time since 1984 Montclair State reached the NCAA "Sweet 16." Montclair defeated Catholic University 95-78 on March 8 behind a career-high 24 points from senior guard Ben Martinez.
In the NJAC championship game against Rampo College, Martinez
drove the length of the floor to score on a layup with 1.9 seconds remaining
in the second overtime session to lift Montclair State to an 86-84 victory,
the Red Hawks' first NJAC Tournament title since 1982.
The Red Hawks, whose last postseason championship was the 2000 ECAC NY/NJ
Metro title, last made the NCAA field in 1995. MSU also avenged a pair
of regular-season losses to the Ramapo Roadrunners, who claimed this year's
NJAC regular-season title.