UNION, N.J. (1/4/20) – Jared Latane knocked down five triples and finished with a season-high 21 points as the Kean University men's basketball team opened 2020 with a 75-62 victory over St. Joseph's College of Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon.

Mario Gunn totaled 13 points and eight rebounds for the Cougars who improve to 4-8 overall. Stephane Etheart finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Bears who fall to 4-6 overall.

Kean led for most of the first half as the Cougars attempted to pull away with a 16-5 run over a 5:14 span to hold a 30-19 advantage with 4:35 remaining. St. Joseph's answered with a 10-3 run over the final 3:07 to trail Kean 33-28 at intermission.

The second half saw Latane score 15 of his 21 points in just 12 minutes off the bench, while Frank Reali kept the Bears in the game with his hot shooting from long distance scoring 16 of his 25 points. The Cougars pushed the lead to 65-54 with four minutes remaining, before an 8-4 run pulled Kean's advantage down to 67-62 with 1:51 to play.

The Cougars closed out the contest on an 8-0 that included triples from Latane and Jeff Cooper.

Latane added four steals, while Cooper totaled 13 points and made three triples. Nate Lyles totaled nine rebounds and seven points

Head Coach Adam Hutchinson and the Cougars will return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 8^th, hosting the Ospreys of Stockton University at 8:00 p.m.