KEAN MEN’S BASKETBALL KEEPS WINNING STREAK ALIVE OVER MONTCLAIR STATE
By Hector Morales | Published by December 23, 2021
Kean University Men’s Basketball team remains undefeated as the Cougars defeat the Montclair State University Hawks 105-94 in a fierce New Jersey Athletic Conference showdown on Tuesday, November 23. The Cougars returned to Harwood Arena from a 4-game road trip as the Kean fans watched their home team hang on to win their first NJAC game of the season.
Jailen Jamison making the shot Photo credit: Larry Levanti 
Letrell West Photo credit: Larry Levanti
Guard/Forward Letrell West, was sharp throughout the whole game finishing with a season-high 26 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.
“We definitely came out excited,” West said. “We have been locked in, getting our chemistry and getting better every day. Today was our first test and we passed!”
West was impressed about his teammates’ performance such as Jersey City Native, Senior Jailen Jamison as he finished the game with 17 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Senior Nate Lyles and Junior Kendall Blount both finished the game with 12 points and six rebounds. Sophomore Justin Singh-Smith and Junior JD Daniels both recorded 11 points to finish the game.
“I love all our guys,” West said. “We played hard for each other and every night there is going to be somebody different. We all had our mistakes, but we have gotten better.”
Kean Head Coach David Turco helped lead the team to victory as it turned out to be a tight game against the Hawks and was glad about the team’s performance.
“We came out quite strong,” Turco said. “We had a stretch where we lost our composure, but we were able to come back and gain our confidence. I’m just proud of the performance and the execution that they did.”
The Cougars had a 24-point lead until the Hawks crawled back closer to a 10-point lead at the end of the 1st half. Turco helped motivate the team to stay the course by stretching their 10-point lead during the second half.
“You always have to get better,” Turco said on the team’s improvement. “It’s nice that we are 6-0 in November, but no trophies are handed out in November. We have to continue to work every day, get better defensively, become a little bit more cohesive as a group, continue to work on our shooting, and just try to give the effort we need for 40 full minutes.”
The Cougars and their fans go on Thanksgiving break happy as they await to face the Scarlet Raiders of Rutgers-Newark in a crosstown rivalry matchup on Wednesday, December 1.
“We are going to be ready for them, we are going to get our scout in, and we will be locked in,” West said on their next matchup against Rutgers-Newark.
You must be logged in to post a comment.