LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Justin Robinson (Lake Katrine, NY/Kingston) capped Monmouth basketball's dramatic comeback Friday night at Alumni Gym with a straightaway three with 3.8 seconds left to put Monmouth up over Rider 79-78, the eventual final score. MU hit its final seven shots and ended the game on a 17-2 run after trailing by 14 with 3:58 to go. Monmouth ties a program record for wins in a single season with 21, and has now won seven straight games to improve to 21-5 and 13-2 in conference, while Rider falls to 10-16, 6-9 in league.
"Our kids made incredible plays," said head coach King Rice. "To come that far back and get it done in regulation is a credit to these young men."
Robinson got the ball off the inbounds pass with 14.6 remaining after Kahlil Thomas put Rider up 78-76 with a layup at the 21-second mark. He was guarded right of the circle before stepping back and drilling the triple from straight on to put MU up 79-78. Rider's ensuing inbounds attempt from under their own basket was knocked out of bounds with 2.7 seconds left, and the Broncs did not get a shot off before time expired.
Freshman Pierre Sarr (Dakar, Senegal/Roselle Catholic) was in the middle of the press on the baseline with MU down five at the 1:28 mark, enabling Robinson to tie it up and get Monmouth the ball back via the alternating possession. to Deon Jones (Wilmington, DE/Sanford School [Towson]) scored to make it 76-73, and Rider inbounded and got across half court before the Hawks defense converged and Je'lon Hornbeak (Arlington, TX/Grace Prep [Oklahoma]) came away with a steal, one of five for him on the night. Robinson brought the ball up and found Micah Seaborn (Fort Worth, TX/Prime Prep Academy) in the right wing to connect from deep and cap a 14-0 run by tying the game with 58.8 remaining.
Down 76-62 with 3:58 remaining, Jones opened the comeback by laying one in and disrupting a shot on the next defensive trip ahead of Sarr, who had two immediate rebounds upon checking in, laying one in to trim it to 10. The Broncs missed back-to-back triples and MU converted from deep both times on offense, getting one from Seaborn and a second from Hornbeak to cut the deficit to five with 1:32 to play.
Rider led by double-digits from the 12:11 mark of the period until Monmouth's comeback. The Broncs hit 14 of their first 19 shots of the half, including seven triples, to go from down nine to up as many as 14. Zedric Sadler knocked home three of those triples as Rider went up 14 and held that margin until the 3:39 mark when Jones began the MU comeback.
The Hawks took a nine-point halftime lead, pulling away late in the stanza thanks to a 14-2 run after the game was tied at 27 with 5:52 remaining. Robinson put home five straight and eight of ten, including a pair of three pointers, before Seaborn also hit from deep to extend the lead to 41-29, Monmouth's largest, at 2:40. Rider cut it to eight before Robinson swished another one from range with 42 seconds to play in the half, making it 44-33 Hawks with Jimmie Taylor laying one in for the Broncs to make it 44-35 after 20 minutes.
The Hawks took a six-point lead on a Robinson drive at 15:28 and the teams were within one possession for nearly five minutes after that when Hornbeak put Monmouth up five with a triple.
The win ties Monmouth's program record for wins in a single season, done twice in Monmouth's Division I history. MU has now won seven in a row. Robinson led MU with 21 points and six assists on five long balls, with Jones adding 18 and five on 6-10 from the floor. Seaborn hit 17 points on three treys, while Hornbeak scored 12 in adding four assists and five steals. MU shot 43.9%, 59.1% from deep and 88.9% from the line.
Rider got a double-double from Thomas with 18 points and 13 boards, while Khalil Alford added 14 points and Teddy Okereafor scored 13. Sadler found his way into double-digits with 11. The Broncs shot 46% for the game and 36% from downtown.
The Hawks return to the floor on Monday night against Manhattan. Tip at The MAC is set for 8:00 p.m. on ESPN3.
