LEWISBURG, PA – Visiting Bucknell for the first time in school history, Monmouth got 10 rebounds from Mustapha Traore (Philadelphia, PA/The Phelps School) and eight points from three separate players but fell to the Bison on Saturday, 65-43.

The Hawks got within three in the early stages of the second half, but Bucknell took a 12-point lead on Andrew Funk's triple at 13:07. That triple began a stretch of 5:09 in which neither team scored, snapped by a Paul Newman lay-in to make it 48-34 in favor of the home team. Bucknell was able to add to the advantage in the final minutes to close out the home victory.

Monmouth scored on its first three possessions, but Bucknell responded with three early triples in a back-and-forth first half. MU built a 19-14 lead after Nick Rutherford (Indianapolis, IN/Allen/Florida Atlantic) finished on a two-on-one, but an 8-0 Bison run put them back in front, with Nate Sestina scoring five of those points. Bucknell's lead grew as large as eight before MU cut into that, eventually going to the locker room with the Bison on top 29-22.

NOTES AND QUOTES
"I thought that our kids really bought in early. The problem that we're having is, as soon as we don't make a shot, kids are hanging their heads and if you're playing in a college basketball game and you hang your head, bad things are getting ready to happen. You could feel it in the second half when they started making a run and you could feel the energy on our bench starting to go away." – Head Coach King Rice

-Mustapha Traore became the first Hawk this season to grab 10 rebounds in a game.
-Traore tied a career-best with his second 10-rebound contest (12/22/17 at Yale).
-Monmouth made its first three shots of the game.
-Sam Ibiezugbe led Monmouth in scoring in the first half, going 3-3 from the field with a dunk.
-Monmouth is now 2-1 all-time against Bucknell.
-This marked Monmouth's first-ever trip to Lewisburg in men's basketball.
-King Rice started a third lineup combination on the season, opening with Salnave, Hammond, McClary, Traore and Quinn.
-It marked the first time Traore and Quinn started together since last January 29 against Rider.

NUMBERS CRUNCH
-MU outrebounded Bucknell in the first half, 20-15.
-The Hawks limited Bucknell to 33.3% from the field in the opening half.
-MU topped the Bison in points in the paint in the opening half, 12-2 and 24-18 for the game.
-The Hawks got eight points from three different players.
-Avi Toomer scored a game-high 17 points for Bucknell.

UP NEXT
-Monmouth heads to Hofstra to take on the Pride on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m.