WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Monmouth got 14 points apiece from Deion Hammond (Mitchellville, MD/Riverdale Baptist) and Louie Pillari (Tinton Falls, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy), but it was not enough as MAAC leader Canisius came into West Long Branch and picked up a 78-60 win. Isaiah Reese led all scorers with 26 points for the Golden Griffins, leading three in double figures.

Canisius extended its lead to 14 in the second half multiple times before Isaiah Reese extended it to 19 at 10:47 with consecutive buckets. Austin Tilghman (Wilmington, DE/Archbishop Carroll) muscled to the rim at 5:01 to get MU within 13, but Canisius held on to win 78-60.

Monmouth grabbed a 25-22 lead when Pillari hit his fourth consecutive shot, a triple to give MU the advantage. Canisius responded with a 17-2 run, hitting three from beyond the arc to take the lead. MU got a late triple from Hammond to get himself into double figures and reduce the deficit to nine, the score at the half.

NOTES AND QUOTES
"Tough night for the Hawks. We got outplayed by a better team tonight. Gotta give Reggie [Witherspoon] a lot of credit. When you watch their team play, they're a team together… we're a group right now that's trying to become a team." -  King Rice

"I think every night we just need to come out here and play hard. There's no talent on the defensive end, either you're working hard or you aren't. You don't have to be able to shoot or dribble or any of that like you do on offense." –Austin Tilghman

-The score was the exact same in both halves, 39-30 in favor of Canisius.
-Five Hawks had four or more rebounds in the game.
-Louie Pillari hit his first four shots of the game.
-Pillari scored into double digits for the ninth time this season, with seven of those coming in conference games.
-Pierre Sarr made his first start since November 14, the third game of the season.
-There was not a free throw taken by either team in the first half. The first foul shot came in the second half, 22:43 into the game.
-Deion Hammond worked into double figures for the 18^th time this season.
-Monmouth is now 7-4 against Canisius all-time.
-The Hawks and Griffs regular season series ended with the Golden Griffins winning both games.
-MU started a lineup of Sarr, Quinn, Salnave, Hammond and Tilghman for the first time this year, the 12^th lineup combination of the season.
-The Hawks are now 3-4 when playing on Friday this season.
-MU moves to 5-6 at home in the OceanFirst Bank Center this year.
-Austin Tilghman returned after missing just one game.
-George Papas saw his first action since January 14, the last time MU played Canisius.

NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Monmouth was outshot 50% to 46.9% on the night.
-MU outrebounded Canisius 32-28.
-The Blue and White dominated bench points to the tune of 37-15.
-The game featured just two ties and three lead changes.
-Reese's 26 led all scorers, while Jermaine Crumpton scored 15 and Takal Molson 10 for Canisius.
-The Hawks are now 5-10 in league play, while Canisius is 13-2 and tied for first place in the MAAC.

UP NEXT
-Monmouth heads to Siena Sunday to take on the Saints at 2:00 p.m. on ESPN3.