ALBANY, NY – Monmouth Basketball's season came to a close on Thursday night, as Nick Griffin hit a straight-on triple with just over four seconds remaining to lift Saint Peter's over Monmouth in the MAAC Tournament, 60-58. The Hawks conclude the season 11-20, and were led by 12 points from Zac Tillman (Yeadon, PA/Shipley School) in his final game as a Hawk.

MU led by as many as 15 in the second half and were up 13 after a pair of Tillman foul shots with 6:51 to play. Saint Peter's run began with consecutive baskets from Sam Idowu, one from deep, to get the deficit to single digits. SPU cut it to four with 2:48 to go, and Griffin's three made it two with 1:28 remaining. Griffin hit another from deep to make it 57-56 Peacocks, but Tillman responded with 14.1 seconds remaining, hitting off glass and drawing a foul. After missing the extra free throw, Griffin hit the ultimate game-winner from the top of the key.

Monmouth led by 12 at the half, and locked down defensively for the majority of the first 20 minutes. SPU did not score for the first 5:45 of the game. MU built a 9-0 lead in the early stages before taking a 16-5 lead when Ray Salnave (Elmont, NY/Benjamin N. Cardozo) swiped one and scored on the run, plus the foul. The lead increased to 12 at 6:35 when Tillman spun in the lane and got one to drop, and got to 14 later on in the period. Late in the first, Nick Griffin hit a three with 34 seconds to go to draw Saint Peter's within nine, but Micah Seaborn (Fort Worth, TX/Prime Prep Academy) answered with a long wing three at the horn to make it 32-20 at the break.

NOTES AND QUOTES
"I want to give credit to Saint Peter's, John Dunne, their kids and their program. John is one of the classiest coaches in the country. I look up to John, we're friends, so as disappointed as I am on this side, you have to give them a lot of credit." – King Rice

"I feel bad for my seniors, Austin, Zac, and Dan Pillari. These guys had a great four years, Zac with five. The man that Zac has turned into these last four years is incredible." – King Rice

"We've struggled keeping leads this year so I felt like maybe I would stop it today and just try to slow them down and break their pace. You could see their energy started looking like our energy, and our energy started looking how theirs was looking earlier in the game. When that happens, that's when you can have problems. Griffin's one of the better players in the league and he made plays down the stretch." – King Rice

-Austin Tilghman, Zac Tillman and Dan Pillari played their final games as Hawks.
-MU is eliminated in the first round of the MAAC Tournament for the first time since the Hawks' first season in the league, 2014.
-Saint Peter's wins the season series 2-1.
-Zac Tillman scored in double figures for the eighth time in his senior campaign.
-Austin Tilghman's eight rebounds and five assists led the Hawks.
-Tilghman finishes his career second all-time in games played with 132.
-Tillman played in 129 games in the Blue and White, tied with ex-teammate Collin Stewart for third all time.
-Tilghman became the fourth Hawk to ever post 300+ career assists, finishing with 301.
-Micah Seaborn netted eight points, passing Marques Alston for 16^th all time.
-MU limited SPU to 20 first-half points, the lowest total for a Hawks opponent in the first half this year.

NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Monmouth outshot Saint Peter's 43.1% to 37.7%.
-MU limited SPU to 31.4% from deep.
-MU won points in the paint by a 34-16 mark.
-Nick Griffin led all scorers with 20 points, while Sam Idowu scored 15.
-MU ends the season at 11-20, while SPU moves to 13-17.

UP NEXT
-Monmouth's 2017-18 season concludes in the MAAC Tournament opening round with a record of 11-20.