Hawks Fly Over Quinnipiac 66-51
For the second straight game, Monmouth never trailed in beating a MAAC opponent, topping Quinnipiac 66-51 on Thursday night at the TD Bank Sports Center. MU got at least two points and one rebound from all 11 players who saw action. The Hawks improve to 16-5 and 8-2 in conference, while QU is now 5-13, 2-7 in the league.
Listen to the game broadcast at the end of this report
“I’m very excited about our kids fighting to get this win,” said head coach King Rice. “Our guys are continuing to believe in each other and our defense was tremendous.”
Monmouth’s largest lead of the night was 15, which was the final score. MU led by eight at the half but had it trimmed to two on a James Ford triple with 17:33 remaining, the closest Quinnipiac would come. Samuel Dingba hit a jumper at 16:47 to again trim it to two before MU went on a 12-0 run to go up 14. Robinson netted a baseline jumper, plus the foul at 16:34 to put Monmouth up five, and 26 seconds, later, Robinson knocked the ball away at half court and darted to the rim for a transition basket. Zac Tillman (Yeadon, PA/Shipley School) put in a layup before Robinson nailed a pullup triple. Collin Stewart (Glenville, NY/Mekeel Christian Academy) hit two foul shots to finish the run with Monmouth up 14 with 12:42 to play.
The lead stayed within that range until the 3:54 mark, when a 6-0 QU run culminated in a Daniel Harris three to cut the Monmouth lead to five. The Hawks immediately came back with a 12-0 run, highlighted by a strong transition slam by Deon Jones (Wilmington, DE/Sanford School [Towson]) at 2:27. Brady netted a turnaround and MU hit foul shots down the stretch to win by 15.
The Hawks took a 27-20 lead into the half, allowing the fewest points in a first half this season. The Blue and White led by as many as 12 in the first half, doing so with 1:48 left after a Josh James (Greenburgh, NY/Archbishop Stepinac) free throw. The Bobcats ended the half on a 5-0 spurt to cut it to 27-20, getting an Ayron Hutton three with 48 seconds left.
Monmouth held QU scoreless into the first media timeout, not allowing a basket for the first 5:21 before a Daniel Harris three-pointer. MU jumped out to an 8-0 lead behind a pair of Tillman buckets, and extended the lead to 14-6 on a long baseline pull from Je’lon Hornbeak (Arlington, TX/Grace Prep). Four straight from Austin Tilghman (Wilmington, DE/Archbishop Carroll [PA]) and a Chris Brady (Greenlawn, NY/Harborfields) turnaround set Monmouth to a 18-10 lead at 7:44 of the first period, with QU paced by five from Giovanni McLean.
Monmouth was led by Robinson with 13 points and four assists, and Brady added 11 with seven boards. Hornbeak scored nine with three steals, while James had eight boards and Tilghman and Jones posted eight points apiece. MU shot 76.7% from the foul line.
Harris and Hutton both scored 11 points for the Bobcats, while Abdulai Bundu grabbed 10 rebounds and Chaise Daniels had 11. MU limited Quinnipiac to 21.7% shooting, 23.3% from range and beat the Bobcats 15-2 on the fast break. It marked Monmouth’s first-ever win in the TD Bank Sports Center.
Monmouth is back in action on Saturday night at The MAC for a 7:00 p.m. tip on ESPN3.
More From Shore Sports Network
