WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Louie Pillari (Tinton Falls, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy) netted 22 points and led three Hawks in double figures as Monmouth topped Caldwell in an exhibition game at the OceanFirst Bank Center on Saturday, 85-84. MU netted 49 second-half points in the win.

Freshman Sam Chaput (Longueuil, Quebec/Saint Anthony's (TX)) glided to the rim on the break to give MU the lead, and the Hawks would take it for a long stretch on a short pull from Pillari. The Blue and White led by as many as eight in the second stanza, but Caldwell came back to tie at 78 with 2:22 left. Just 10 seconds ran off before Deion Hammond (Mitchellville, MD/Riverdale Baptist School) launched home a long-range triple, a lead MU would not relinquish in the one-point win.

A back-and forth first half saw George Papas (Jersey City, NJ/Union Catholic) drill a pair of long balls 53 seconds apart to give Monmouth a six-point edge. Caldwell responded with four threes down the stretch before Pillari drilled one in the final minute. The Cougars put one home late to take a 39-36 lead into the locker room.

NOTES AND QUOTES
"George, Deion and Louie are just tremendous basketball players with a knack for really being able to shoot the ball and when you play in a league that's as tough as the MAAC, you have to have ways to try to score some points. Today, Louie really got going and George and Deion both hit some. It was an overall good day for us and I'm glad it was a tight game because you have the kids' attention more and we'll get better for this." – Head Coach King Rice

-The game was Monmouth's first exhibition since a 2015 win over Georgian Court.
-King Rice used a 12-man rotation which saw MU newcomers Nick Rutherford, Sam Chaput, Nikkei Rutty and Trevon Gross Jr. on the floor.
-The MU starting lineup featured four returners in Ray Salnave, Deion Hammond, Marcus McClary and Mustapha Traore along with Rutherford.
-All 12 players scored in the game.
-Rutty led all Hawks in rebounding with seven.
-Martin contributed in all facets, scoring eight points and grabbing six boards to go along with five assists.

NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Monmouth scored 49 second-half points.
-Melik Martin was a +19 in his 19 minutes on the floor.
-MU made 12 threes, with 11 of them coming from Hammond (4), Pillari (4), and Papas (3).
-Monmouth shot 46% from the floor and from deep, outshooting Caldwell in both categories.
-Monmouth topped Caldwell 62-26 in bench points.

UP NEXT
-Monmouth opens the 2018-19 regular season at home against Lehigh on November 6 at 8:30 p.m.