WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.- Monmouth University's men's basketball team won their third straight game Thursday night with a 69-58 win over Wagner at Boylan Gym.
Monmouth's defense allowed just 25 points in the first half, en route to holding its third consecutive opponent to under 60 points.
"I thought we played well on the defensive end," said MU coach Dave Calloway. "It seemed like they were stuck at 35 for a while, sparking our 18-4 run which led to the win."
The Hawks held a seven point lead coming out of the break, but the Seahawks closed that gap to three before Monmouth's Marques Alston (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) hit a jumper. Sophomore Whitney Coleman (Salem, Conn./East Lyme) hit his second three pointer of the game two minutes later to give the Hawks a 41-33 cushion with 13:42 left in regulation. The Hawks were tenacious on the glass and equally as impressive on the offensive end of the floor, opening up a 12 point lead, their largest to that point, with just over 12 minutes to go.
With Monmouth up 47-35, center Corey Hallett (Shelburne, Nova Scotia/Shelburne) completed a three-point play after being fouled on a made layup, to give the Hawks a 15 point margin. Four minutes later Jhamar Youngblood (Newark, N.J/St. Patrick's) set a career high in assists with his seventh, this time feeding Hallett on a alley-oop that sent the crowd to its feet. Youngblood gave the Hawks a 60-43 lead minutes later after converting a three-point play. The Monmouth offense held off a pressing Seahawk defense in the final minutes of the game to secure the 69-58 victory.
The first half began with the two teams trading points, and the lead, but after five minutes of play the game was knotted at 8-8. Coleman gave the Hawks a 11-10 lead with 13:25 left in the first after hitting a three. Wagner's Jamaal Smith hit a jumper to give the Seahawks back the lead but MU's Alex Nunner (Leibnitz, Austria) hit a three pointer two possessions later to give the Hawks a 14-12 advantage.
Two consecutive buckets, from Youngblood and Alston, and the Blue & White were up 18-12 with 8:06 remaining in the frame. After Youngblood snatched a defensive rebound over a Wagner player he fed Dejan Delic (Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro/Bridgton Academy), who hit a trey to give the Hawks a 10-0 run. Wagner's Joey Mundweiler and Mark Porter tallied five straight points, to cut the lead to 21-17. Monmouth was able to swing the momentum back as Youngblood was fouled on a successful layup, then hit the ensuing free throw to complete the three-point play. The last three minutes found two baskets by John Bunch (Randallstown, Md./Randallstown) but Wagner was solid on offense, closing the gap to 32-25 at halftime.
The Seahawks were led by Justin Drummond, who had 14 points. Mundweiler and James Ulrich each had 11 points, while Ulrich led all rebounders with nine.
Delic had a game-high 15 points, while Coleman finished with 13 of his own. Alston finished with 10 points, marking the fifth straight game in which the senior forward scored in double figures. Alston also led the Hawks on the glass with seven rebounds. Youngblood had nine points, five rebounds and a career-high seven helpers.
Monmouth shot 55 percent in the game, compared to Wagner's 35 percent effort. The Hawks also held a 34-33 advantage on the glass en route to the win. Wagner fell to 4-9 overall and 1-1 in the NEC with the loss.
The Hawks, now 6-8 overall and 1-1 in the NEC, will host Mount St. Mary's at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 6.
