ST. THOMAS, U.S.V.I - The Monmouth University men's basketball team fell to Notre Dame, 76-33, in the opening round of the 2007 Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, on Friday night. Monmouth will face Wichita State on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. (EST).
The Irish opened by hitting 5-of-5 from three-point range to start the game, getting out in front 9-0 at 17:04, and 17-4 at 15:01, before a Rickie Crews drive and bank-shot trimmed the lead to 17-8 with 12:42 remaining until the break.
Jhamar Youngblood's pull-up wing jump shot pulled Monmouth within 19-12 at 10:16 and after three defensive stops, Whitney Coleman connected on two free throws to make the score 19-14 at 8:17.
After Ryan Ayers hit his third trifecta of the first half, a corner trey at 7:56, Monmouth's Alex Nunner answered with a three-pointer of his own to keep the Hawks within five points at the under-eight timeout.
Coleman's step-back three-pointer from the top of the key after a James Hett steal made it a three-point game, 25-22, with just under five minutes left, but a Monmouth turnover led to Kyle McAlarney's third three-pointer and a six point edge with 3:48 showing.
ND's Zach Hillesland's conventional three-point play put the Irish ahead 31-22 at 2:55 and the Irish pushed the lead back to double-digits on Luke Zeller's jumper at 2:13.
Nick DelTufo's three-point play after a steal and fast break made the score 35-25 with 2.7 ticks left, but Notre Dame, which outscored the Hawks 12-3 in the final minutes of the half, connected on a home run pass from Rob Kurz to a streaking McAlarney for a layup as the buzzer sounded, making the score 37-25 at the intermission.
ND and Monmouth traded baskets to open the second half, as DelTufo's post move made the score 39-27, before the Irish scored the next 10 points to claim a 22-point edge with 15:42 remaining. Nunner's corner three stopped the Irish spurt, but ND held a 51-30 cushion with 14:35 left.
The Irish maintained a 20-point edge throughout the remainder of the game, claiming the 43-point victory, as Monmouth scored just eight points in the second half. Monmouth went scoreless for the final 10:32 of the game.
The Hawks, who connected on 26.5% from the floor, including 3-of-31 in its eight-point second half, were led in scoring by Youngblood, who collected eight points. Coleman dropped in seven points, while Nunner and DelTufo each added six points. Notre Dame, which outrebounded the Hawks 46-18, had three players in double-figures, led by Kurz's 15 points, as the Irish connected on 50.9% from the field.
The 33 points was Monmouth's lowest point total in a game since the 1999-2000 season opener at Princeton, where the Hawks lost 37-35.
