WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Highlighted by four Hawks in double-figures, including a career-high 19 points and three steals from Max DiLeo (Cinnaminson, N.J./Cinnaminson), the Monmouth University men's basketball team posted a 77-70 victory over Fairfield University in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action in the MAC on Sunday afternoon. Monmouth, now 9-9 overall, improved to 6-2 in the MAAC with the home victory.
The Hawks, who also got 16 points, six rebounds, six assists and a career-best eight steals, which tied a school single-game record (John Giraldo vs. George Mason on December 10, 1992) from Justin Robinson (Lake Katrine, N.Y./Kingston), connected on 52.0% from the field in the second half to erase a four-point halftime deficit and lead by as many as 15 with 9:13 remaining. Also joining the double-digit quartet were Deon Jones (Wilmington, Del./Sanford School), who added 14 points and five rebounds and Brice Kofane (Yaounde, Cameroon/Miller School/Providence) who tallied 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots.
“I am very excited for my team,” stated head coach King Rice. “It was great to see four guys in double-figures, with one more guy almost there, because we really shared the ball, and our zone held it down for us. It was fun to get a win for our home fans. It's been a long time since they saw us get a win. Our fans have been awesome coming to the games and watching us play and supporting everything we do, so thank you to the fans. Hopefully we will get a bunch more wins on our home court.”
Trailing by four at the intermission, Monmouth used an 8-0 spurt starting at the 13:05 mark, to take a 42-36 lead on a DiLeo fastbreak basket, and pushed its streak to 20-3 to go ahead 54-39 with 9:13 left. A pair of Jones free throws had the Hawks in front 58-43 with 6:15 remaining, while the Blue & White held a 66-53 cushion with 2:25 showing before the Stags trimmed the lead to 66-60 with 1:10 on the clock on one of Tyler Nelson's five three-pointers. DiLeo responded by going 4-for-4 from the foul line over the next 27 seconds to push Monmouth ahead 70-60 with 43.4 left.
Monmouth, which fell behind 6-1 early, rallied to grab a 9-6 edge with 15:22 left in the half, following a pair of free throws from Austin Tilghman (Wilmington, Del/Archbishop Carroll), before the Stags used an 8-0 run to take a 14-9 advantage with 8:09 showing. Following Nelson's second three-pointer, which put the Stags ahead 17-11, Monmouth responded with an 8-0 spurt, capped by Andrew Nicholas' (Wrightsville, Pa./Eastern York) putback with 5:24 left, to give the Hawks a 19-17 edge.
The Stags answered with a 10-2 streak to claim a 27-21 lead with 1:30 showing, but Robinson's lay-up as time expired got the Hawks within 30-26 at the break.
Nicholas added nine points and a career-best nine rebounds for the Hawks, who outscored the Stags 38-18 in the paint and registered 27 points off of 15 Fairfield turnovers. Monmouth, which connected on 75.0% from the foul line, went 30 for 40 from the stripe, besting its previous free throw attempt number by 10 shots, as DiLeo went 11-of-12 himself.
All three games between Monmouth and Fairfield as conference opponents have now been decided by seven points or less.
Monmouth returns to action on Wednesday, January 21 when the Hawks finish out non-conference play with a game at the University of Pennsylvania in the Palestra at 8:00 p.m.
@MonmouthBBall -- #FlyHawks
