WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Monmouth University Men's Basketball (3-5) only trailed for 1:15 of the night in dominating Radford University (2-4) in the home opener on Tuesday, 80-63. Deion Hammond (Mitchellville, MD/Riverdale Baptist School) led the way with 20 points, while Mustapha Traore (Philadelphia, PA/The Phelps School) posted his second career double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

The Hgihlanders netted the first six out of the locker room to take a one-point lead, but Marcus McClary's (Linden, NJ/The Patrick School) fast-break finish put MU up to stay with 17:41 to go. Hammond went on a mini-run that included a baseline jumper to give the Hawks a seven-point lead, and later, after the visitors got it to five, Hammond drilled a three to make it 58-50. The Blue and White held Radford at an arms length until two quick buckets inside the 5:00 mark made it a 14-point game. MU allowed just six points in the final 3:27 to secure the home-opening win.

Monmouth jumped to a 13-4 lead before a 10-0 Radford run put the Highlanders in front. With the game tied at 24, MU scored six straight and after Radford cut it to two, George Papas (Jersey City, NJ/Union Catholic) drilled a three to put the Hawks up five. Traore knocked in a pair of last-second free throws to send MU to the locker room with a 39-35 edge.

NOTES AND QUOTES

"Tonight, our first home game, so many people showed up and our kids were just not going to be denied. I'm glad that our older guys really carried the load for us. This group is fun, it's a long year but we will fight and battle for the Monmouth Hawks and the fans." – Head Coach King Rice

"We've been on the road a lot so coming back home felt really amazing. I was excited and I was able to show it tonight." – Senior Mustapha Traore

-Monmouth is now 7-2 in home openers under King Rice.
-Deion Hammond scored 20 points for the sixth time in his career and second time this season.
-Hammond's 20 points marks the third time this season a Hawk has scored exactly 20, the most on the team in a game this year.
-Mustapha Traore went for 16 points and a career-best 14 rebounds.
-Traore's double-double was the second of his career, and first since 12/22/17 at Yale.
-Traore's 14 rebounds is the most for a Hawk since Diago Quinn grabbed 14 at Penn on 12/31/18.
-Ray Salnave netted double-digits for the seventh time in eight games this season.
-80 points is the most MU has scored in a game this season.
-This marked the first time MU has ever played Radford, and is King Rice's first win over a current Big South member.

NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Monmouth outshot Radford 49% to 34.8%.
-The Hawks outrebounded the Highlanders 42-36.
-MU posted 13 assists and nine turnovers.
-Monmouth topped Radford in fast break points, 23-6.

UP NEXT
-Monmouth hosts Norfolk State tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+