PHILADELPHIA, PA – Monmouth was within six at the break and shot 65% in the second half, but it was not enough as Saint Joseph's, the preseason Atlantic 10 second selection, topped MU 78-63 in Philadelphia on Monday.

Each team found an offensive rhythm in the second half, and Charlie Brown scored all 21 of his points in the final 20 minutes after foul trouble kept him off the board in the first half. A Deion Hammond (Mitchellville, MD/Riverdale Baptist School) three at 12:47 got MU within 11, but a quick 8-0 spurt had SJU up its largest margin of 19 before the Blue and White chipped away late and got within 13 before falling.

In a low-scoring first half that featured four ties and four lead changes, Monmouth locked up SJU to just 28.8% from the field in the opening 20 minutes. MU's largest lead of the period was three after a pair of early Salnave foul shots, but the home team opened up a nine-point edge at 25-16 following a put-back from Jared Bynum. The Blue and White came right back to score the next seven in a row, getting buckets from three different guards capped by the first triple in a Monmouth uniform from Trevon Gross Jr. (Jackson, NJ/St. Benedict's/Virginia) in the right corner, prompting a Phil Martelli timeout at 1:05. SJU got the final two baskets of the half to take a 29-23 lead into the half.

NOTES AND QUOTES
"This was our best game so far this year, we competed the whole time. Charlie Brown is a monster, we stayed in the game early and he had those early fouls, but the guys who aren't their stars I thought carried them and made it hard on us. You have to take your hat off to those kids because they really stepped up for them. But I told our kids, this was our best game, we fought hard and Saint Joe's is tough. Phil Martelli is probably a Hall of Fame coach and this was a big-time deal to come down here and play in this gym, so we're thankful to Saint Joseph's for giving us this opportunity." – Head Coach King Rice

-Mustapha Traore posted his third career game in double-figures, finishing with 12 points.
-Ray Salnave led MU in scoring for the second game in a row, finishing with 14."
-Deion Hammond posted his third consecutive double-figure effort in a row to open the year.
-Nick Rutherford pulled down a season-high seven rebounds, and now has 17 boards in three games.
-George Papas dished out a career-best four assists.
-Trevon Gross Jr. netted his first points in a Monmouth uniform with a late first half corner triple.
-The trip marked a homecoming for redshirt junior Mustapha Traore, and was Monmouth's first trip to Philadelphia since playing at Drexel in November 2015.
-The game was the first time the teams have met on one of their campuses, with the only prior meeting taking place in 1994 in Wyoming at the Cowboy Shootout.
-MU changed its starting lineup for the first time this season, with Louie Pillari making his ninth career start.

NUMBERS CRUNCH
-MU limited SJU to 28.2% shooting in the opening half.
-The Blue and White shot 65.4% in the second half.
-MU shot a season best 48.1%.
-Mustapha Traore drew five fouls inside.
-SJU was led by 21 from Charlie Brown and 19 from Lamarr Kimble.

UP NEXT
-Monmouth heads to the Myrtle Beach Invitational at Coastal Carolina University to take on RV West Virginia on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. on ESPNU.