WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Monmouth University Men's Basketball (18-12, 12-7 MAAC) never trailed and Ray Salnave (Elmont, NY/Benjamin N. Cardozo) netted a career-high 34 points as the Hawks ran past Fairfield University (11-19, 7-12) on Wednesday night, 69-45.

Fairfield cut it to seven in the opening minutes of the second half, and it was all Hawks the rest of the way. MU went on a 14-3 run that saw Salnave net his 30^th point of the night to make it an 18-point lead, and Deion Hammond (Mitchellville, MD/Riverdale Baptist School) ripped off six points in 41 seconds to make it a 22-point margin. The lead grew as large as 25 before settling at 24, the eventual final.

Salnave scored 23 of Monmouth's 39 opening-half points, including 18 of the first 20. The guard had a hand in the first eight MU baskets, making six of them and assisting between his legs on a Hammond transition bucket and a George Papas (Jersey City, NJ/Union Catholic) three, the latter giving MU a 16-point lead. The Hawks made their first seven triples, but Landon Taliaferro got hot late in the half to get the Stags within three after eight straight points. MU netted six of the last seven in the half to lead by eight into the locker room.

NOTES AND QUOTES

"I've been talking about how my team is getting better throughout the year. Today, these guys came ready. Their energy was there right from the beginning. The way we guarded the ball to start the game, when you make people play offense that far away from the basket, you're going to give them problems. That gave us the opportunity to create turnovers and steals and get out in transition." – Head Coach King Rice

"The way Ray started the game, all the way through the first half, that's a special night. When you have a guy having a special night like that you just try to keep getting him the ball so you can keep getting him the right shots. That was all Ray, that's his ability to score the basketball and when he's focused and getting to his spots nobody can guard him." – Rice on Salnave's 34-polnt night

"Tonight I just found my touch. I've been having a tough time shooting the ball lately so once I saw one go through it opened up for me. I just keep putting them up and they kept falling." – Ray Salnave

-Ray Salnave became the 51^st player in Monmouth Basketball history to score 30+ points in a game.
-Salnave is the sixth MU player in the King Rice era to score over 30 in a game (Justin Robinson 3x, Andrew Nicholas 2x, Micah Seaborn 1x, Deion Hammond 1x, George Papas 1x).
-This marks the second consecutive game that Monmouth has had a 30+ point scorer (Deion Hammond vs. Saint Peter's).
-Salnave set career highs in points with 34, field goals made with 12, and threes made with five.
-Salnave is the third player in MU history to net exactly 34 points in a game (Rahsaan Johnson – 2002, Fernando Sanders – 1988).
-Salnave's 12 field goals made is the most in a game since Justin Robinson made 14 at Siena on February 13, 2017.
-Monmouth has not trailed in the last two games at any point, leading for a combined 78:48 of the 80 minutes.
-MU allowed 10 field goals to Fairfield, the least allowed in the King Rice era and least since at minimum 2006.
-The Hawks surrendered just three assists to the Stags, matching the low of the King Rice era (Rider – 3 on 2/26/15).
-It marked the best field goal percentage defense by the Hawks (22.2%) since January 28, 2016 at Quinnipiac (21.7%).
-Mustapha Traore grabbed 10 rebounds for the third time this season and first in MAAC play.
-Deion Hammond netted double figures for the 71^st time in his career and 25^th this year.
-George Papas scored in double figures for the 12^th time in his career, with 10 coming this season.
-The 14 points allowed in the second half is a season low for MU.

NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Monmouth outshot the Stags 43.1% to 22.2%.
-The Hawks outrebounded Fairfield 37-35.
-MU turned 18 Stag turnovers into 25 points.
-The Hawks were better in the paint and off the bench, 18-8 in each category.

UP NEXT
-Monmouth wraps up the regular season on Friday night when they host Siena at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+. Senior Night festivities will begin approximately 15 minutes before tip, honoring MU's trio of 2020 seniors.