Box Score | RPI Highlights

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Akbar Hoffman scored 31 points on 12 of 20 shooting and Montclair State University (MSU) held off the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's basketball team 76-73 in a first round game of the Holiday Inn Rochester Downtown Tournament, hosted by the University of Rochester. The Red Hawks keep their perfect season intact at 5-0, while the Engineers drop to 2-2.

RPI faces Elmira College on Sunday at 1pm in the consolation game. MSU takes on the Yellowjackets, who defeated the Soaring Eagles 84-73, at 3pm.

Rensselaer was led by seniors Tom Horvat and Andreas Kontopidis, who combined to score 40 points. A guard, Horvat had 23 points, including 17 in the second half, with four rebounds, an assist, a blocked shot and three steals. Kontopidis scored 10 of his 17 points in the first half. The forward added five rebounds, two assists and three blocked shots. 

Patrick Mahoney notched 15 points with seven rebounds and Mitchel Wayand came off the bench to score 10 points for the Engineers, who made 12 three-pointers. 

Montclair built a 14-7 lead 12:30 into the first half, but RPI tied the game at 16-16 within the next two minutes with the help of a pair of threes from Kontopidis and a triple from Mahoney. Another three-pointer from Kontopidis 35 seconds later put the Engineers in front for the first time, 19-16.

RPI eventually built a six point lead, 24-18, with just over four minutes to play, but the Red Hawks fought back for a 28-25 margin with 1:14 to go in the half. Horvat nailed two threes and the game was tied at 31-31, but Myles Mitchell-White made a late free throw for a one point MSU edge.

The Red Hawks scored seven of the first nine points of the second half for a 39-33 lead and built it to a 15-point margin, 51-36, with 14:28 to play in the second half. RPI countered with an 8-0 run and later pulled to within one, 56-55, on a three-pointer from Wayand. 

Jordan Robinson scored on a layup on the other end and Hoffman hit a three-pointer for a 61-55 lead. After building the margin to eight points on a Hoffman three-point play with 5:28 to go (70-62), MSU saw it dwindle to a point when Mahoney connected from beyond the arc with just under two minutes to go. Mitchell-White made a three on the other end and Kontopidis scored on a jumper in the lane, but Hoffman made two free throws and RPI was unable to connect on two three point attempts before the buzzer sounded.