PHILADELPHIA, PA. - The Monmouth University men's basketball team fell 80-66 at the University of Pennsylvania, in the Palestra, on Tuesday evening. The loss drops the Hawks' record to 2-5 on the season. Penn has won four straight, to improve to 4-2.
Monmouth, which trailed by six early, 14-8, with 15:18 remaining, knotted the score at 14-14, when
Whitney Coleman drained a corner three. The Quakers responded by going on a 13-3 run over the next six minutes to claim a 27-17 cushion at 8:48. Penn pushed the lead to 12 points, 40-28, with 3:23 left in the opening stanza when Ibrahim Jaaber connected on a trifecta.
Monmouth, which shot 52.5% from the floor in the opening stanza, cut the lead to 43-35 at the intermission, when
Marques Alston tipped in a Coleman miss with 27 seconds showing.
Alston carried the Hawks out of the locker room from intermission, cutting the Penn lead from 43-35, to 43-40, as the forward, netted the first five points. Penn retaliated with a 13-3 run of its own, sparked by eight straight points from Mark Zoller, to snag a 56-43 cushion with 13:50 left.
After Monmouth cut the lead to 60-50 when
Dejan Delic and Alston scored consecutive baskets, Penn pushed the lead to 69-53 with 5:29 left, as Brian Grandieri drained a shot in the paint.
Monmouth, which connected on 23-of-49 from the floor (46.9% ), was led in scoring by Alston, who had 23 points, while both Delic and
Jhamar Youngblood chipped in 10 points. Coleman added eight points and six rebounds.
Three Penn players scored in double-figures, led by Zoller's game-high 29 points and 11 rebounds. Grandieri added 19, while Steve Danley chipped in 10 more. Jaaber added 10 assists and six steals to the cause.
Penn held a 39-27 advantage off the glass, including 18 offensive rebounds, which led to 15 second chance points. Penn also owned the paint, outscoring the Hawks 52-27, as the Quakers connected on 50.0% from the field.
Monmouth returns to action on Thursday, when the Hawks face Rider in non-conference action in Lawrenceville, at 7:30 p.m.
