Hawks Fall to Towson in OT 79-75

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Monmouth University senior Andrew Nicholas (Wrightsville, Pa./Eastern York), who eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau for his career, led four Hawks in double-figures with a team-best 24 points, but the Blue & White dropped a 79-75 overtime decision to Towson University in the 2014 CBE Hall of Fame Classic in the MAC on Sunday afternoon.

Andrew Nicholas on the court vs. Towson (Monmouth Athletics)

Nicholas, who hit his sixth three-pointer to tie a career high for the third time with 28.1 seconds left in overtime, gave Monmouth a 75-74 lead, but the Tigers answered with a three-pointer of their own with 3.5 ticks showing and iced the game with a pair of free throws with 1.7 on the clock.

A pair of Deon Jones (Wilmington, Del./Sanford School) free throws put Monmouth in front 66-58 with 2:26 left, but Towson answered with an 8-0 run over the remainder of regulation to force overtime, which included three foul shots from Four McGlynn with 12.0 seconds showing to tie the game at 66-66.

The Tigers scored the first five points of the extra session, before six straight from Jones put MU in front 72-71 with 2:09 left. Nicholas drilled his sixth trey from the wing to reclaim a 75-74 edge for the Hawks, but Alex Gavrilovic’s three-pointer from the far corner put TU back in front for good.

“Tonight was a tough one and we didn’t get it done down the stretch. We missed too many layups and too many free throws. I probably should’ve been able to help them more down the stretch and I didn’t get that done. We will get back to work,” stated head coach King Rice.

Jones notched his fourth straight double-digit outing to open the season with 16 points, while Justin Robinson (Lake Katrine, N.Y./Kingston) added 14, and Brice Kofane (Yaounde, Cameroon/Miller School/Providence) notched 10 points, five rebounds and tied a career-high with seven blocks.

After falling behind 10-4 early, Monmouth used a 14-1 run, capped by a Nicholas trey, to take an 18-11 lead with 12:44 left in the first half, built the advantage to 39-23 on Kofane’s lay-in with 2:51 showing and took a 41-29 lead into intermission following a pair of Robinson foul shots with 4.1 on the clock.

A pair of Robinson three-pointers out of the break pushed MU in front 47-31 with 18:11 remaining, while three Collin Stewart (Glenville, N.Y./Mekeel Christian Academy) free throws at 8:20 gave the Hawks a 60-48 lead.

Monmouth, which connected on a season-high 10 three-pointers, shot 43.3% (26-60) from the floor and 13-of-17 from the foul line, but was outrebounded 48-26. MU, which turned 17 Towson turnovers into 24 points, turned the ball over itself just six times.

Nicholas, who became Monmouth’s 20th Division I 1,000-point scorer on the day now has 1,008 points, and ranks 10th in career made three-pointers with 136.

Monmouth returns to action on Friday, November 28 when the Hawks travel to the University of Maryland to complete play in the 2014 CBE Hall of Fame Classic at the XFINITY Center. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m.