WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ- Monmouth finished the game on a 24-11 run after trailing by seven in the second half, led by 28 points from Justin Robinson (Lake Katrine, NY/Kingston) and 25 from Micah Seaborn (Fort Worth, TX/Prime Prep Academy) to top Canisius 94-88 Sunday afternoon at the OceanFirst Bank Center. The win is Monmouth's fifth in a row as the Hawks sweep the early season MAAC weekend.
MU trailed 77-70 with 9:57 to go after a Chris Atkinson three, but MU battled back with a Robinson three-point play and a two-handed flush from Mustapha Traore (Philadelphia, PA/The Phelps School). A coast-to-coast layup from Seaborn put MU up at 4:30, but Jermaine Crumpton tied it at 86 with 2:43 to go. Robinson netted another three-point play at 2:29 and four straight points put Monmouth up seven to secure the win.
NOTES AND QUOTES
"Players win basketball games and our kids today really had to dig deep to get this done. That said, that is a credit to Canisius and their head coach, Reggie Witherspoon." –head coach King Rice.
"For our team to be at its best, Justin, Micah and Je'lon have to be taking a lot of shots and making them. Other guys are growing into their roles, especially Chris Brady, Collin Stewart and Pierre Sarr."
"My biggest thing this year is being a leader throughut the entire game. Every year I've gotten better at leading." – senior guard Justin Robinson
"We knew they would come out and be ready to hit shots, once we locked in on defense they started missing more contested threes." –senior guard Je'lon Hornbeak
-Monmouth is now 6-2 all-time against Canisius.
-Last time Monmouth was 2-0 in MAAC play was 2014-15.
-Monmouth is now 14-2 in its last 16 home games and 13-1 in MAAC home contests, including 3-0 this year.
-King Rice picked up his 85th career victory.
-Josh James appeared in his 90th career contest.
-The Hawks started the same lineup (Robinson, Seaborn, James, Hornbeak, Brady) for the seventh time in eight games.
-MU is now 4-0 against Canisius all time in West Long Branch.
-Justin Robinson's 28 points moved him ahead of Blake Hamilton with 1,454 career points into sixth place all time.
-Chris Brady's eight rebounds moved him into 13th place all-time, passing Rahsaan Johnson.
-Robinson scored in double digits for the eighth straight time this season and 58th time in his last 64 games.
-Je'lon Hornbeak followed up his five threes at Quinnipiac with four more against Canisius, including three in the opening half.
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-10 Hawks scored in the game.
-Monmouth's 49 first-half points were the most the Hawks netted in a period all season.
-Monmouth's 94 points were the most since a win at Iona last season.
-The Hawks have topped 80 points in four games in a row.
-MU shot 50% from downtown and 50.8% from downtown.
-Robinson's 28 points is tied for the third most he has ever scored in a contest.
-Seaborn's 25 points are one off a career-best.
-Robinson now has at least six assists in four consecutive games.
-Seaborn's 22 field goal attempts are the most by a Hawk this year.
UP NEXT
-Monmouth heads to Wagner on Tuesday night, December 6 to take on the Seahawks at 7:00 p.m.
MONMOUTH wins high-scoring affair over canisius, 94-88
