Monmouth Defeats Niagara 69-58

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Monmouth’s defense, which held Niagara to just 19.0% shooting from the floor in the first half, helped pace the Hawks to a 69-58 victory over the Purple Eagles in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action on Friday night in the MAC. The Hawks, who have limited eight opponents on the year in the 50’s, improve to 11-9 overall and 7-2 in the MAAC.

Justin Robinson takes a shot vs. Niagara (Monmouth Athletics0

Highlighted by Justin Robinson’s (Lake Katrine, N.Y./Kingston) 16 points, four rebounds and three assists, Monmouth placed three in double-figures as Collin Stewart (Glenville, N.Y./Mekeel Christian Academy) added 12 and Max DiLeo (Cinnaminson, N.J./Cinnaminson) tallied 11 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Monmouth, which hit 11-of-18 from the field in the opening stanza (61.1%) opened a 20-point halftime lead, 40-20, its largest of the season, while the Hawks’ bench outscored Niagara’s 31-1.

“I am very excited about the progress of my team,” stated head coach King Rice. “We are guarding the ball extremely well and we shot it well tonight. The team is progressing like we like.”

The Hawks opened an 8-1 lead at 18:25 on DiLeo’s two-handed slam, and doubled up the Purple Eagles 24-12 with 8:45 remaining on an Andrew Nicholas (Wrightsville, Pa./Eastern York) three-pointer. The Blue & White pushed the advantage to 36-17 on an Austin Tilghman (Wilmington, Del./Archbishop Carroll) with 4:01 showing and went in front 40-20 with 32.1 on the board after a pair of Stewart free throws.

DiLeo’s three-pointer out of the break gave Monmouth a 43-20 advantage, tying its second largest game lead of the year, before a quick 8-0 run by Niagara got the Purple Eagles within 43-28 with 16:20 left to play. A pair of DiLeo free throws pushed the Hawks in front 60-41 with 4:28 left, but Niagara responded with a 13-3 run to make the score 63-54 with1:10 left on Ramone Snowden’s three-pointer.

Following a Monmouth turnover, Brice Kofane (Yaounde, Cameroon/Miller School/Providence) blocked Wesley Myers’ attempt at the rim, which started a streak of four Monmouth free throws to give the Hawks a 67-54 edge with 28.1 showing.

Kofane added six points and seven rebounds, while Tilghman notched seven points, four rebounds and three assists for the Hawks, who have held 17 of their 20 opponents to 70 points or less on the campaign. Monmouth connected on 47.4% (18-38) from the floor and 25-of-36 from the stripe.

Niagara (3-15, 2-7 MAAC) was led by Emile Blackman’s game-high 18 points, while Dominique Reid tallied a near double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. Snowden notched 17 points for the Purple Eagles, who shot 31.8% (14-44) overall for the game.

Rice added, “We were so fired up when we walked out and saw the great crowd. I think it showed that our guys love to play in front of a great, great crowd.”

Monmouth returns to action on Sunday, January 25 when the Hawks travel to Manhattan College for a MAAC contest in Draddy Gymnasium at 2:00 p.m.