Monmouth University (11-14, 6-7 NEC) hosts league-leading Central Connecticut State (16-10, 13-1 NEC) in men's basketball action, on Thursday night in Boylan Gym. Monmouth, which stands in a tie for seventh place in the latest conference standings, is 8-3 on the home court this year, and have won six straight versus the Blue Devils in Boylan Gym, dating back to the 2002-2003 campaign. CCSU, currently on the nation's fifth-longest win streak, has won 11 straight games to stand atop the league. The Blue Devils' streak is behind Florida (17 games), Memphis (14), South Alabama (13) and Winthrop (12) in the NCAA.
The Hawks enter the game having alternating wins and losses in their last three outings, while the Blue Devils have been on the winning side in 13 of their last 14 games.
MU has dropped two of its last three decisions, both coming at the hands of Fairleigh Dickinson, which currently stands in third place in the NEC standings. The Hawks fell to the Knights, 84-71, on Monday night, marking the third time this season the Blue and White allowed 80+ points to the opposition.
Monmouth, which held a two-point lead with 10:48 left in the first half, allowed FDU to rattle off a 24-8 run throughout the remainder of the stanza, en route to the 13-point loss.
Freshman Jhamar Youngblood (Newark, N.J./St. Patrick's), last week's NEC Rookie of the Week, tied his season-best with 20 points, with four rebounds, three steals and two assists, on Monday night. Seniors Dejan Delic (Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro) and John Bunch (Randallstown, Md./Randallstown) added 13 points apiece, while Bunch added seven rebounds and six blocked shots. Marques Alston (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) chipped in 11 points.
SETTING THE SCENE:
Monmouth (11-14, 6-7 NEC) vs. CCSU (16-10, 13-1 NEC)
February 15, 2007
Tip: 7:05 p.m.
Location: Boylan Gym (2,200)
Tonight, at the halftime break, the Monmouth University Athletics Department will recognize its 144 student-athletes who made made Dean's List. Also, Monmouth will presented its Turnkey Prism Award for Excellence in Athletic Administration.
