Monmouth Hawks (5-5, 0-0 MAAC) vs. UAlbany Great Danes (6-7, 0-0 America East)
Saturday, December 21, 2019 - 2:00 p.m. EST
OceanFirst Bank Center, West Long Branch, NJ
TV
ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Eddy Occhipinti
Analyst: Steve Bazaz
SCOUTING THE GREAT DANES
The Great Danes come in 6-7, with losses in four of their last five following a three-game winning streak. Cameron Healy leads UAlbany in scoring at 16.2 points per game, while Ahmad Clark is at 14.2ppg.
UALBANY HEAD COACH WILL BROWN
Will Brown is in his 19th season at UAlbany, and has taken the Great Danes to the NCAA Tournament five times, including three years in a row from 2013-15.
MONMOUTH AT HOME
After going .500 at home a season ago, MU has opened the 2019-20 season with a .500 record in the OceanFirst Bank Center with wins over Big South favorite Radford as well as Norfolk State.
UALBANY ON THE ROAD
UAlbany is in search of its first road win of the year, having dropped all five road contests they have played this season. The Great Danes have lost at MAAC members Manhattan and Quinnipiac, as well as Bucknell, Boston College and Sacred Heart. They do have two neutral site wins over Sacred Heart and Presbyterian.
SERIES NOTES
-The teams met for the first time in 1999.
-Albany's first win in the series came in the 2011 NIT Season Tip-Off in a game played at George Mason.
-MU outscored Albany 52-35 in the second half the last time they met in West Long Branch after trailing by nine at the intermission.
-Ray Salnave has 43 points in two career games against UAlbany.
BUZZER BEATING
Ray Salnave knocked home a three at the buzzer at Princeton to secure the win for MU, 67-66. It marked the second time in King Rice's tenure that MU won a game as the final horn went off, and the first since Deon Jones netted a coast-to-coast reverse layup against Mississippi Valley State on November 29, 2013.
#0 IS #5 AND #6 ON ESPN'S SPORTS CENTER
Ray Salnave was featured on December 10th's edition of ESPN's Sports Center, with his second-half crossover three pointer listed at #6 and his buzzer-beating three marked at #5.
SALNAVE CLUTCH IN FINAL SECONDS
Ray Salnave has now scored to tie or put Monmouth up in the final 15 seconds of regulation or overtime seven times in his career, with six of them coming on the road (2018 at Hofstra – tie, 2018 at Penn – tie, 2018 at Penn – win, 2019 at Quinnipiac – tie, 2019 vs. Iona – win, 2019 at Princeton – tie, 2019 at Princeton – win).
MARTIN SCORES IN DOUBLES
Melik Martin posted his fifth career game in double figures, and first this season at Princeton with 10 points on 4-5 shooting, including a three. His last double-digit effort came at the 2018 Myrtle Beach Invitational on November 18, 2018, when he netted 10 points vs. Cal State Fullerton.
