WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Monmouth kept Yale off the board for a 7:44 stretch of the second-half to take a second-half lead, using a 17-0 run to regain the advantage before ultimately falling to Yale, 66-58. Ray Salnave (Elmont, NY/Benjamin N. Cardozo) led the Hawks with 15 points, while Mustapha Traore (Philadelphia, PA/Phelps School) set a career-high with 12 rebounds.

Yale came out of the locker room on a 17-7 push to take an eight-point lead in the early stages of the second half, a margin that grew to 11 on Azar Swain's three at 14:17. That was the last Yale scoring for 7:44, as MU ripped off 17 points in a row including a critical stretch to take the lead back. George Papas (Jersey City, NJ/Union Catholic) converted a three-point play from the elbow, before Melik Martin (York, PA/York Catholic) hit a game-tying three, got a steal and hammered home a one-handed breakaway dunk to give MU the lead. That edge grew as large as six with 6:48 to go before Yale battled back. The Bulldogs finished the game on a 13-1 run to grab the road victory.

Monmouth's defense held Yale without a point for a 7:12 stretch of the first half, building a lead that grew as large as 12 with Salnave scoring 11 points. MU got contributions from six different scorers in the period, including four with multiple field goals and strung together a 13-0 stretch. Yale answered with a late 7-0 run, and Eric Monroe hit a corner three as time expired to trim the Monmouth halftime lead to two at 31-29.

NOTES AND QUOTES
"Give Yale a lot of credit. They're a really solid basketball team. I thought we played super well for most of the game, they got back and got ahead. They didn't think we would keep fighting but we did, and we got the lead back and they made more plays down the stretch than we did." – Head Coach King Rice

"We've gotten better the last few games, it hasn't shown in the win column but today was the best job we did fighting to get back into a game." – Coach Rice

"Today we had a certain energy and everybody felt it. Once it ran through the whole team that kept us going, even when were down. In past games it seems like we stopped playing but we're starting to take notes from things like that and I think the energy we brought today was really good. Of course, we understand we didn't get our first win but guys know it's that edge we have that's going to keep us rolling so day by day we have to just keep getting better." – Redshirt Sophomore guard Ray Salnave

-Ray Salnave scored in double digits for the seventh time this season and 19^th time in his career. He has now netted double digits in five of the last six games.
-Salnave has now led Monmouth in scoring six times in 12 games.
-Mustapha Traore's 12 rebounds set a career-high.
-Melik Martin's nine points were the second most for him in a game this year, all coming in the second half.
-Diago Quinn moved into the top-25 all time in games played with 113, tying John Giraldo and Giedrius Aidietis.
-Monmouth took on Yale for the second time ever, and are now 1-1 against the Bulldogs. Each road team has earned the win.

NUMBERS CRUNCH

-Monmouth went a stretch of 7:12 in the first half without allowing a point, and a 7:44 stretch in the second half of shutout defense.
-MU outscored Yale's bench 23-21.
-Monmouth led in points in the paint 28-24 and on the fast break 12-7.
-The Blue and White limited Yale to 34.5% shooting in the opening half.
-Rutherford, Papas and Quinn all posted a plus-minus in the positives, including a +17 for Rutherford.
-Miye Oni netted a game-high 20 for Yale.

UP NEXT
-Monmouth wraps up non-conference play against Penn on New Year's Eve at The Palestra at 1:00 p.m.