HACKENSACK, N.J. – Monmouth University won its third straight Northeast Conference road game behind its 75-62 victory at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Stratis Arena on Thursday night in the opening game of the 2012 Garden State Rivalry Series. Monmouth, which hit 8-of-10 three-pointers in the first half to build a 20-point halftime lead, and went 18-for-20 from the free throw line, improved to 6-7 in the NEC and 8-18 overall.
"Tonight was a great win for our guys," commented head coach
King Rice after the victory. "I am so proud of the effort they came out with. I want to take my hat off to my whole team. To get another road win is awesome, and with it being Rivalry Week, that's even better."
The Hawks, who hit 54.5% from the floor in the first half, had three players in double-figures, led by
Jesse Steele's 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while adding six assists and three steals.
Andrew Nicholas, who went 3-for-4 from three-point range as well as Steele, added 11 points, while
Dion Nesmith added 10 points.
Phill Wait and
Will Campbell added eight points each, while
Ed Waite contributed six points and seven rebounds.
Monmouth raced out to a 9-2 lead after Waite's fast break lay-up off a feed from
Austin Tillotson with 17:04 showing, but the Knights climbed within one, following consecutive three-pointers, making the tally 9-8 at 16:12.
The Hawks answered with an 11-0 run over a span of 2:22 of action to haul in a 20-8 advantage, as Nesmith chipped in five points and the spurt was capped by
Mike Myers Keitt's lay-in off a lob pass from Steele.
FDU put together a 6-1 run to trim the Knights' deficit to 21-14 with 11:12 on the clock, but MU knocked down a trio of three-pointers, by three different Hawks as part of its second 11-0 run of the half, and grabbed a 32-14 advantage with 8:25 left.
Following back-to-back baskets from Wait, the Hawks took a 36-18 edge with 6:44 showing, while consecutive three-pointers from Steele and Tillotson put MU ahead 42-20 with 4:29 left until the break. After the Hawks took their second-largest lead of the season (22), the Knights retaliated with a 9-2 streak, including three straight hoops from George Goode, to climb within 44-29 with 1:04 showing.
Nicholas' three-pointer and Steele's drive as time expired gave Monmouth a 49-29 lead at the intermission, as the Hawks hit 8-of-10 from beyond the arc, posting their highest first half point total of the season, as well as their largest halftime lead.
FDU opened the second stanza on a 15-5 spurt, capped by Lonnie Robinson's drive, to make the score 54-44 with 10:54 on the clock.
Monmouth, which went 9:02 without a field goal, reclaimed a 59-44 advantage on Campbell's corner trey at the 9:00 mark, before seven points from Bolding made the tally 61-51 with 5:30 showing.
The Blue and White pushed the lead to 68-51 after Nicholas' three-pointer and a pair of foul shots from Tillotson and
Marcus Ware, with 3:30 left.
"I am happy for my kids," added Rice. "We just want to keep playing well enough to keep moving us forward."
On the team's third straight NEC road victory, Rice added, "We played a tough schedule on the road early in the year, and I think that is paying off for us right now. For us to get three on the road means our kids are growing up and they are really doing a good job."
Monmouth held FDU to just 37.9% from the field, forced 17 Knights turnovers.
Monmouth returns to action on Saturday, February 11 when the Hawks host Fairleigh Dickinson in the MAC to wrap up the 2012 Garden State Rivalry with the Knights. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
