Montclair, NJ (1/25/12) – Junior guard Garret Thiel’s (Middletown, N.J./Middletown South) tip-in with 3.4 seconds left gave Ramapo College a narrow 64-63 road victory over Montclair State University in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game Wednesday evening at the Panzer Athletic Center.

The close-knit contest saw a total of 15 lead changes and 13 ties, including a nail-bitting six consecutive lead changes in the final 2:21.

Thiel, who scored 15 points, was helped by junior Will Sanborn (Red Bank, N.J./Red Bank Regional), who scored a team-high 18 points, and junior forward Stephon Treadwell (Newark, N.J./Seton Hall Prep), who had a double-double performance of 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds as Ramapo improved its record to 14-5 on the season and 5-3 in the NJAC with its  eighth win in the last 10 games

Montclair State, which snapped a two-game winning streak and suffered only its second loss in the last 10 games, fell to 15-5 overall and 5-3 in the conference. Senior forward Andrew August (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan), who scored 13 of his game-high 19 points in the second half, twice gave the Red Hawks the lead in the closing minutes, the last time on a baseline jumper with 13.9 seconds to play. MSU did have one final chance, but a 3-point try by sophomore guard Daniel Singleton  (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) came up short at the buzzer.

After a 31-31 deadlock at halftime, neither team held more than a one possession advantage in the second half, including a margin of just three points just once by each team. There were 12 lead changes and nine ties in the second stanza.

Both teams held their largest leads in the first half. Montclair State led 15-9 with 11:25 remaining before Ramapo exploded with a 21-8 run of its own to jump ahead 30-23 with 2:25 left in the opening period. But MSU didn’t quit, scoring eight of the half’s final nine points to tie the scoring at halftime, 31-31.

Freshman guard Dwight Bostic (Roselle, N.J./Abraham Clark) scored 13 points in a reserve role while junior forward Ordel Goldson (Hackettstown, N.J./Warren Hills) had 10 points and nine rebounds for Montclair State.

Both teams resume play on Saturday when Montclair State visits The College of New Jersey while Ramapo College hosts Rutgers University-Camden in NJAC action.