STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Brice Kofane’s (Yaounde, Cameroon/Miller School/Providence) first career double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds to go along with four blocked shots, highlighted five Hawks in double-figures as Monmouth defeated Wagner 74-66 on Saturday evening in the Spiro Sports Center.

Brice Kofane vs. Wagner
Brice Kofane vs. Wagner (Monmouth Athletics)
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With the win, Monmouth improves to 5-5 overall and has held eight of its first 10 opponents under 70 points.

Kofane, who tied a career-high with 12 rebounds, hit 4-of-7 from the field, as the Blue & White connected on 52.1% (25-of-48) overall from the floor. Monmouth, which last put five players in double-figures in a season-opening win at Hofstra last year, got a game-high 19 points and seven rebounds from Deon Jones (Wilmington, Del./Sanford School), while Justin Robinson (Lake Katrine, N.Y./Kingston) added 12 points and six assists. Collin Stewart (Glenville, N.Y./Mekeel Christian Academy) and Chris Brady (Greenlawn, N.Y./Harborfields) registered 10 points apiece, as the pair combined to go 7-for-10 from the floor.

“I am very proud of our team. This was a game that we had to fight all the way through,” stated head coach King Rice. “I felt like our kids were getting stronger as the game was going along and we made the right plays down the stretch. I feel like we really grew up today. Wagner played one of their better games of the year with their style and toughness, and we were still fortunate to come out on top.”

An Andrew Nicholas (Wrightsville, Pa./Eastern York) jumper from the free throw line area gave Monmouth a 9-6 edge at 13:59, while his three-pointer pushed the Hawks in front 14-12 with 10:23 showing. The Seahawks answered with a pair of drives to claim a 16-14 edge at 9:10, before the Hawks responded with a 12-3 run to take a 26-19 lead with 3:01 remaining.

Wagner, which Monmouth held without a field goal for 6:38 of action, climbed within 26-22 on a Romone Saunders three-pointer from the corner with 2:32 left, but Stewart’s traditional three-point play and a Brady hook shot with 58 ticks on the board gave the Blue & White a 31-23 lead, while Monmouth held a 31-26 lead at the intermission.

A quick five points out of the break for the Seahawks tied the game at 31-31 just a minute into the second half, but the Hawks used a 9-1 spurt to go in front 40-32 with 16:12 left, and claimed a 54-43 advantage at the 8:59 mark following a Robinson three-pointer and a Jones jump shot.

The Seahawks battled to within three, 65-62, with 2:14 remaining on JoJo Cooper’s three-point play, but Kofane netted four straight points behind a short jumper and a break away slam to give MU a 69-62 cushion with 1:24 left. The Hawks connected on five-of-six free throws in the final 41 seconds to claim the 74-66 road victory, which snapped Wagner’s six-game win streak in the series.

Monmouth held Wagner to just 32.8% (21-64) shooting for the game, the fourth time this season the Hawks have limited the opposition to under 40.0% from the floor.

Monmouth returns to action on Tuesday, December 23 when the Hawks host St. Francis Brooklyn in the MAC at 7:00 p.m.


GAME BROADCAST

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PRE GAME and 1st HALF

HALF TIME

2nd HALF

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