ALBANY, N.Y. – Highlighted by a career-high 21 points from Collin Stewart (Glenville, N.Y./Mekeel Christian Academy), and 17 points from Deon Jones (Wilmington, Del./Sanford School), in which the junior collected his 1,000th career point, Monmouth posted an 83-64 win over Siena at the Times Union Center in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play on Saturday night. Stewart, who connected on 8-of-9 field goals, went 6-for-6 from the floor for 15 of his game-high 21 points in the second half.
With the victory, Monmouth improved to 14-12 overall and 10-5 in the MAAC, doubling its league win total from a year ago in just its second season in the conference.
Jones, who went 8-for-8 from the foul line, eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career with his two free throws at the 4:18 mark of the first half, while Justin Robinson (Lake Katrine, N.Y./Kingston) added 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field. Brice Kofane (Yaounde, Cameroon/Miller School/Providence) added eight points and nine rebounds, while Max DiLeo (Cinnaminson, N.J./Cinnaminson) tallied eight points and five rebounds for the Hawks, who went 23-of-26 from the charity stripe.
Monmouth, which erased a 10-point first half deficit to lead by three at the break, connected on 52.9% (27-51) from the field, including 57.1% (16-28) in the second half alone, while building a 21 point advantage late in the stanza.
“I am very proud of these kids and I felt we really executed the whole game today,” stated head coach King Rice. “I felt like we were very, very fresh coming off of five days to prepare. Tonight was a total team effort. We have Siena again in a couple of weeks, and I am sure they will be ready the next time we see them. It's going to be a tough game to end the regular season for us.”
After Kofane's tip-in tied the game at 5-5, the Saints rattled off a 16-6 run to lead 21-11 with 12:12 left in the half. Monmouth responded with the next seven, which included a Chris Brady (Greenlawn, N.Y./Harborfields) three-pointer from the top of the key, to climb within three, 21-18, with 9:49 showing.
The Saints claimed a 26-18 advantage with 6:34 left, but the Hawks answered with a 16-5 streak to end the half, and hold a 34-31 lead at the break. In the run, Monmouth went 10-for-10 from the free throw line, and took its first lead, 30-28, on Jones' jumper with 1:21 showing and lead by as many as four, 32-28, on Stewart's drive with 55 seconds on the clock.
Monmouth's first three scoring trips to open the second half yielded three points each as Zac Tillman's (Yeadon, Pa./Shipley School) three-point play and trifectas from Jones and Robinson pushed the Hawks in front 43-36 with 18:14 remaining.
Stewart notched nine straight points for the Blue & White and 11 of 13 during a stretch, which put the Hawks in front 62-46 with 8:43 showing on his three-pointer.
Mike DeLorenzo (Hackettstown, N.J./Hackettstown) scored his first career basket off of Daniel Pillari's (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional) first career assist with 41 seconds left to give the Hawks an 80-61 lead, while Ba'shawn Mickens' (Summit, N.J./Summit) three-pointer pushed MU in front 83-62 with 33 ticks left.
Monmouth, which held Siena to just 35.5% (11-31) from the floor in the first half, held its 20th opponent to 70 points or less on the year.
Tillman added seven points, while Brady notched three points and six boards.
Monmouth returns to action on Thursday, February 19 when the Hawks travel to in-state and hOURglass rival Saint Peter's for a 7:00 p.m. MAAC contest in the Yanitelli Center.
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