UNIONDALE, NY – Monmouth used a 15-0 run in the second half and got 24 points apiece from Austin Tilghman (Wilmington, DE/Archbishop Carroll) and Deion Hammond (Mitchellville, MD/Riverdale Baptist) in topping Marist Saturday afternoon at Nassau Coliseum. MU got double-digit contributions from four players to win its second in a row.

The Blue and White led by as many as 12 in the early stages of the second half, but Marist went on an 11-0 run after trailing by nine to take a two-point lead after Aleksandar Dokic made a jumper and then converted two free throws with 5:54 remaining. MU responded with a run fueled by TIlghman and Hammond, as the pair scored all but two points as MU ripped off 15 in a row to take a commanding 77-64 lead. The Blue and White knocked down free throws down the stretch for a second straight game to secure the victory.

Monmouth took a 10-point lead to the locker room and led by as many as 13 in the first half, started by ripping off an 11-1 run after the game was knotted at 10. Ray Salnave (Elmont, NY/Benjamin N. Cardozo) finished the half with eight points and converted a pair of three-point plays in the period. Micah Seaborn (Fort Worth, TX/Prime Prep Academy) drilled a three to make it 40-27 and neither team scored in the final two minutes as MU led 40-30 at the break.

NOTES AND QUOTES
"Tonight, these two guys [Hammond and Tilghman] down the stretch really carried us, and then Deion and Austin got us those quick seven and we could breathe again and we were able to win the game." – King Rice

"We knew what we had to do, we had to get stops late. I think today, we made huge strides because there's been lapses in games of 4-6 minutes where teams would go up. We grew today because we had a mental lapse… we were able to push through this time and I think that's a statement of us growing as a team and us getting better." – Austin Tilghman

-Austin Tilghman converted his third double-double of the season, finishing with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
-Tilghman's 24 points marked a career-high, and his second straight game of 20+ points.
-Deion Hammond's 24 points were a career-high, his first 20+ point career contest.
-Tilghman led Monmouth in every major category, including points, rebounds, assists and steals.
-Tilghman made his last 15 shots of the night (4-4 FG, 1-1 3PT, 11-11 FT).
-Tilghman was perfect from the line for a second consecutive game, making 11-of-11, the most makes without a miss for a Hawk this season.
-Ray Salnave finished with 15 points, his fifth double figure game of the season.
-Monmouth won consecutive games for the first time this year.
-Micah Seaborn netted 10 points in 13 minutes.
-Monmouth shot over 50% for the seventh time this season, and first since beating Manhattan on 1/5.
-Monmouth was just one turnover over their season low of eight.
-The game was played as part of a MAAC Tripleheader at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY.

NUMBERS CRUNCH
-MU outshot Marist 53.3% to 41.9% from the field.
-The Hawks outscored Marist in the paint 32-26.
-The Blue and White led for 34:33 of the game.
-Brian Parker tied for a game-high in points with 24 for the Red Foxes.
-Monmouth won its second in a row to move to 3-5 in MAAC play, while Marist dropped to 2-7.

UP NEXT
-Monmouth is at Rider on Monday night at 7:00 p.m. to take on the Broncs.