BETHLEHEM, PA – Monmouth University Men's Basketball led by as many as 16, and got critical stops down the stretch in addition to 15 points from Ray Salnave (Elmont, NY/Benjamin N. Cardozo) and 14 from Deion Hammond (Mitchellville, MD/Riverdale Baptist School) in an opening night win over Lehigh University, 66-62 in Bethlehem. 11 of the 12 Hawks to play in the game netted a point as the Blue and White won on opening night for the sixth time in nine chances under King Rice.

James Karnik's finish at the rim cut it to a one-point game with 4:16 to go, and MU took a three-point edge into the final media timeout after a pair of Salnave free throws. Out of the stoppage, MU forced a turnover before George Papas (Jersey City, NJ/Union Catholic) netted a critical left wing three and Salnave converted a three-point play with 2:25 left to make it a nine-point game. Lehigh once again trimmed it to three and had the ball with a chance to tie, but strong defense from MU forced a tough Jordan Cohen shot and Salnave rebounded, making the ensuing free throw to ice the game.

Louie Pillari (Tinton Falls, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy) scored eight straight points including a pair from downtown as part of a 15-0 first-half Hawks run to lead by 16. The Blue and White led by 16 three separate times, the final when Salnave converted at the rim with 2:57 to play in the period. The Mountain Hawks scored the final seven points of the half, including a three from Jeamaril Wilson with under 30 seconds left to trim it to nine at the break.

NOTES AND QUOTES
"From our first win last year through the end of the season, I think we grew up a lot and now we're an older team. We have some nice, new pieces and we have a lot of kids that can come in and get into people defensively. When you have that many guys, you can keep fresh guys in the game and I think that's why we were able to just hang on, in their building, to get the win." – Head Coach King Rice

"I was impressed the most by how together we were and how we stayed like that throughout. Lehigh made a run and we pulled back together and stuck it out." – Guard Deion Hammond

-Monmouth is now 6-3 in season openers under King Rice, and 3-2 in season openers played on the road.
-The Hawks have won four of their last five on opening night.
-MU wins on the road to open the season for the first time since 2015 at UCLA.
-Monmouth has won the last two contests against Lehigh played in Bethlehem.
-King Rice moves to 2-1 against the Mountain Hawks, while Monmouth is now 4-6 all time vs. Lehigh.
-Tonight marked Lehigh's first home non-conference loss since December 6, 2017 against Yale.
-Jarvis Vaughan and Gob Gabriel made their Monmouth debuts, with Vaughan scoring his first career points on a foul-line jumper on his first collegiate attempt.
-Monmouth Basketball is now 24-21 all time against Patriot League members.
-George Papas made his second career start, and first since December 6, 2017 against Hofstra.
-Ray Salnave scored in double figures for the 32^nd time in his career, while Deion Hammond netted his 43^rd such game.
-Sam Chaput's seven assists were three clear of a career high.
-Sam Ibiezugbe grabbed a career best eight rebounds.
-11 of 12 Hawks to play in the game scored, with 10 of them making a field goal.

NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Each team made 24 field goals and eight threes, with MU converting 10 foul shots to Lehigh's six.
-MU narrowly outshot Lehigh, 40.7% to 40%.
-Monmouth had an even assist-turnover ratio with 16 of each.
-The Hawks were outrebounded by one, 39-38.
-The Blue and White were better off turnovers (20-11) and fast breaks (23-14) as well as bench points (37-13).

UP NEXT
-Monmouth is at Hofstra for a 4:00 p.m. tip on Saturday.