Monmouth University rallied from 10 points down in regulation to force overtime, and junior Andrew Nicholas' (Wrightsville, Pa./Eastern York) three-pointer forced a second extra session, but Marist College hit six free throws in the final 20 seconds to hold on for a 96-92 double overtime victory over the Hawks on Sunday afternoon in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action in the MAC.

Zac Tillman
Zac Tillman (Monmouth Athletics)
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Monmouth, which had four players score in double-figures, was led offensively by junior Deon Jones (Wilmington, Del./Sanford School/Towson), who tied a career-high with 27 points and seven rebounds, while freshman Zac Tillman (Yeadon, Pa./Shipley School) posted a season-best 17 points, with seven boards and three assists. Nicholas added 16 points and freshman Josh James (White Plains, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac) tallied 13 points, six assists and five rebounds.

"Today was a great college basketball game," stated Monmouth head coach King Rice - the game featured 14 ties and 13 lead changes. "Marist just seemed to make a few more plays than us, but I am so proud of kids though. Zac and Chris are really growing. You come out on the bottom of that game and you feel bad, but we really moved forward this afternoon."

The Hawks, who trailed 71-61 with 4:18 remaining following a 16-2 Marist run, ended regulation on a 10-0 streak, which culminated in back-to-back drives from Nicholas, the latter which tied the game at 71-71 with 44.7 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, Jones blocked Chavaughn Lewis' game-winning attempt with 30 seconds remaining, but missed a game-winning three-point attempt of his own with two ticks.

Monmouth grabbed a 75-73 edge in the first extra period on a Jones wing jumper, before an 8-0 spurt by the Red Foxes, which included consecutive three-pointers from Manny Thomas, put Marist in front 81-75 with 1:30 left. Over the final 1:10 of action, the Blue & White strung together a 7-1 spurt, capped by a Nicholas three-pointer with 8.4 showing, to knot the contest at 82-82.

In the decisive overtime session, Marist led 92-88 following five straight points from Khalid Hart, with 19.7 seconds left, before Jones' drive pulled Monmouth within 92-90 with 15.5 showing. Jay Bowie connected on a free throw with 13.2 left and leading by three, Marist fouled MU on two occasions to not allow a game-tying three-point attempt.

Trailing 95-92, James missed a pair of free throws for the Hawks with 5.2 showing, while Thomas hit one foul shot with 3.2 ticks to account for the final tally.

Monmouth, which shot 50.7% (35-69) from the field for the game, held a 48-22 advantage in points in the paint, while Marist went 15-of-34 from three-point range, to set a season-high for three-point makes for the Red Foxes.

Coach King Rice
Coach King Rice (Monmouth Athletics)
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Lewis hit for a game-high 28 points, with eight rebounds and five assists, while Hart (26 points, six assists), Bowie (24 points, 10 rebounds) and Thomas (10 points) scored in double-figures for Marist (11-15), which has won five of its last six to move to 8-8 in the MAAC.

Marist’s first three field goals of the game were three-pointers, as the Red Foxes held a 9-6 lead at 17:43 on Bowie’s trey. Monmouth tied the game on a pair of free throws from Jones and grabbed a 12-10 edge on junior Khalil Brown's (Queens N.Y./Westwind Academy) alley-oop slam off a feed from James with 15:28 left.

Trailing 20-15 at 10:46 on Bowie’s second trifecta, the Hawks rallied with five straight points, a freshman Justin Robinson (Lake Katrine, N.Y./Kingston) three-pointer from the top of the key and Tillman’s tip-in, to knot the score at 20-20 at 9:45.

The Red Foxes took a 23-20 advantage on a Hart three-pointer at 9:27, but Jones’ trey kicked off an 11-0 run for the Blue & White over 4:37 of action, as the Hawks claimed a 31-23 advantage with 3:50 showing.

Marist answered with a 7-0 spurt of its own to climb within 31-30 with 2:04 left and pushed its run to 10-2, as Bowie drilled his fourth three-pointer of the stanza with 1:04 showing, to tie the game at 33-33. Following a steal, the Hawks grabbed a 35-33 lead at the intermission as Nicholas dropped in a fast break lay-up with 16 seconds left.

The Hawks started the second half with a 14-5 run to open an 11-point lead, 47-36, with 16:46 left, as Tillman dropped in seven in the spurt, but Marist responded with a 17-5 run to claim a 55-54 lead with 9:53 left.

Monmouth (10-17, 4-12 MAAC) returns to action on Wednesday, February 19 when the Hawks host preseason MAAC favorite Manhattan College in the MAC at 7:00 p.m.

 

 

 




GAME AUDIO

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Pre Game/1st Half

Halftime

2nd Half/Post Game

2 OT and Postgame

Chris Tobin is Monmouth University's Associate Athletic Director

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