LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL – Monmouth battled back from a 16-point second half deficit, getting a game-tying look from three that was just off the mark at the buzzer as the Hawks fell to Dayton, 73-70 in the AdvoCare Invitational semifinals Friday night at HP Field House. Junior guard Justin Robinson (Lake Katrine, NY/Kingston) matched his career-high with 28 points for the third time this season as Monmouth fell to 3-2 while Dayton remained unbeaten at 5-0.
"I'm proud of my kids because kept fighting, and we're standing there, straight up, with the ball, against Dayton and down three, and they were shook," said head coach King Rice. "And we're getting a lot better."
Down six with 59 seconds remaining, Monmouth drew up a play that out of a timeout that resulted in a Collin Stewart (Glenville, NY/Mekeel Christian Academy) three from straightaway to cut the deficit to three. On the defensive end, Scoochie Smith missed a jumper and Deon Jones (Wilmington, DE/Sanford School [Towson]) came up with the rebound and a chance to tie. After ball movement across the floor, Micah Seaborn (Fort Worth, TX/Prime Prep Academy) got a look from deep from the right side that was just off the mark, and Smith grabbed the rebound as time expired.
Dayton went up by 16 with 10:16 to go on a layup from Darrell Davis, 59-43. Monmouth then embarked on a 20-5 run to get within one. With under 10 remaining, Robinson immediately got the Hawks closer, converting two free throws before connecting on back-to-back threes to cut the deficit to nine. The junior continued his run with another pair from the line before slipping a pass inside to Chris Brady (Greenlawn, NY/Harborfields), who flushed one to make it a six-point game with 6:18 to go. Stewart knocked in another three with 4:52 left, and cut the deficit to one on two Stewart foul shots with 4:03 left. MU never tied or took the lead, but sliced the margin to one again before falling by three.
The Flyers came out of the locker room on an 8-0 run to go up by 15, as Monmouth did not score in the first 6:32 of the second stanza before a Robinson three snapped that streak. Dayton held a double-digit lead until the 8:17 mark in the midst of Monmouth's comeback.
In the first half, UD jumped out to a 12-4 lead and eventually led by nine, 23-14. The Hawks got that down to two multiple times down the stretch of the half but a pair of Charles Cooke free throws pushed the Dayton lead to 37-32 at the break. Smith scored 10 in the first for the Flyers.
Overall, Robinson scored 28 points, a career-high for the third time this season. Three other Hawks ended up in double-figures, as Seaborn pitched in 12 points and four assists and Stewart and Brady netted 10 each. Smith led Dayton with 19 points and eight boards, while Cooke netted 15 with nine rebounds. Kyle Davis and Kendall Pollard each contributed 12.
Monmouth shot 36.4% from the field, 47.4% from downtown and 77.8% from the stripe compared to 42.9% FG, 22.2% 3PT and 68.2% from the line for Dayton. The Hawks again outscored the opponents bench by a 26-15 mark and bested Dayton in second-chance points, 16-7.
Monmouth will play in the third-place game of the AdvoCare Invitational on Sunday against USC at 12:30pm in the HP Field House in Lake Buena Vista, FL. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
