-Monmouth won a road game at an A10 opponent for the first time ever
-MU won its third game under
King Rice against an Atlantic 10 opponent, with the other two coming over Fordham.
-Monmouth won its third in a row, the best stretch in non-conference play since 2019-20.
-The win is Monmouth's first over an A10 member since 12/213 against Fordham.
-Monmouth starts 3-1 for the first time since 2015-16.
-The Hawks are the second MAAC team to reach three wins.
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Marcus McClary's 24 points are eight more than his previous career high.
-Shavar Reynolds' 25 points are his career-high.
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Walker Miller's 12 rebounds is a career best, his first career double-digit rebounding game, and the most by a Hawk this season.
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Nikkei Rutty's 10 rebounds is a season high.
-Miller (12) and Rutty (10) mark the first time for two Hawks to grab double-digit rebounds since February 6, 2021 at Manhattan (Rutty and Martin).
-Monmouth and Princeton have met 19 times previously
-The first meeting between the teams came on 11/20/91, a Princeton 58-47 win
-MU has split the last six matchups with Princeton
-The last meeting saw Ray Salnave hit a buzzer-beating three to lift MU to a win
-Four Hawks (Papas, McClary, Rutty, Chaput) were in the lineup the last time the teams met
-The 2006 meeting saw just 62 combined points, setting an NCAA record in a 41-21 Monmouth victory
-Monmouth is 12-24 all time against Ivy League opponents
-MU has played every Ivy member in program history with the exception of Dartmouth
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King Rice is 2-2 against Princeton, winning at home in 2016 and on the road in 2019
-In Monmouth's last home win over Princeton, 96-90 in 2016, Justin Robinson had 27 and Je'lon Hornbeak had 25 and 10 rebounds
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LEADING THE NATION
Monmouth is currently the national leader in free throw percentage, shooting 88.4% from the foul line through four games. MU has shot over 90% from the stripe in three of four games, with three Hawks over 90% for the year including Sam Chaput, who is a perfect 6-for-6.
MCCLARY PLAYING AT A HIGH LEVEL
Marcus McClary hit his first seven shots of the second half at St. Joe's en route to 20 second-half points and a career best 24 points on 11-17 from the field. He netted a pair of threes and helped propel MU to a key win.
KEY WIN AT SAINT JOSEPH'S
MU's win at St. Joe's marked the first ever true road win over an Atlantic 10 opponent in school history. The Hawks topped SJU by 12 for
King Rice's third win over an A10 school and the first on the road.Â
SHAVAR GOES OFFShavar Reynolds dropped 25 points, his career high in the win at St. Joe's. He made all nine of his free throws and went 7-16 from the floor for his best game as a Hawk to this point.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
George Papas had a huge week in two Monmouth wins, going for 31 in a win over Lehigh before adding in another 18 in topping Saint Joseph's. He earned his first MAAC Player of the Week honors, and the first for a Hawk this season.Â
WELCOME WALKER
Graduate center
Walker Miller has burst onto the scene after playing sparingly in four seasons as a walk on at North Carolina. Miller has scored in double figures in every game, the only Hawk to do so, and is MU's leading rebounder at over seven per game. He comes off his best rebounding performance at MU, grabbing 12 at Saint Joseph's.Â
HOT STARTSMonmouth exploded out of the gates at Towson, opening the contest on a 17-0 run and ultimately leading 24-1. The Hawks did not allow a point for the first 6:48 and did not allow a field goal in the opening 8:34 in building a 23-point advantage. Monmouth also opened strong at SJU, scoring the games first seven points.Â
SHORTENED ROTATION
A coach that uses a deep bench,
King Rice played just eight players in the season opener at Charlotte. That marks the least since just eight Hawks saw time on December 8, 2018 at Albany. Current Hawks
Nikkei Rutty and
Marcus McClary started that game for MU. Rice used just one additional player off his bench against Towson in guard
Jack Holmstrom for 3:41, and MU was back to an eight-man rotation at SJU.Â
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STIFLING DEFENSE
MU put together consecutive games of strong defense. MU limited Towson to 31.7% and 31.6% from deep. The Hawks got back into the game at Charlotte thanks to their defense, which held Charlotte overall to 38.2% and 22.2% from downtown, including 20% from deep in the second half. The 49ers were just 6-27 from three, and accumulated 20 points at the free throw line, while the Tigers totaled 27 points from the foul line.
WHAT RETURNS
Monmouth brings back 10 players from last season's MAAC regular season title team, including a pair of players that opted to remain at MU for their fifth season after the NCAA granted eligibility due to COVID-19. The Blue and White are 15 total points shy of returning 50% of its scoring from a season ago, with the two fifth-year players in
George Papas and
Marcus McClary coming back as the top two returning scorers.Â
WHAT COMES INThe Hawks have seven new faces on the roster to begin the 2021-22 season, with four freshman coming in as well as a trio of transfers. Impact graduate transfers
Shavar Reynolds Jr. (Seton Hall) and
Walker Miller (North Carolina) will make an immediate impact, while MU also welcomes walk-on guard
Jakari Spence from Robert Morris.
King Rice also brings in a strong freshman class of four players, including guards
Tahron Allen,
Jayden Doyle, and
Sam Fagan and center
Tadhg Crowley.
PRESEASON ALL-MAACTwo Hawks were named to Preseason All-MAAC teams, with top returning scorer
George Papas earning First Team and transfer
Shavar Reynolds Jr. earning Third Team. Papas, a second-teamer a season ago, becomes the fourth Hawk to ever earn Preseason All-MAAC First Team, joining Justin Robinson, Micah Seaborn and
Deion Hammond. Reynolds was named to a preseason team despite not suiting up for the Hawks yet after an impressive season a year ago with Seton Hall.Â
GRAD TRANSFERSKing Rice has welcomed a pair of graduate transfers in the same season for the first time in his tenure at Monmouth. Rice has had two previous grad transfers in his 10 prior seasons. Reserve guard Trevon Gross Jr. was a Hawk in 2018-19 after playing at Virginia, while impactful big man Brice Kofane joined the Hawks in 2014-15 following his time at Providence. Kofane averaged 6.4 points per game and led the Blue and White in rebounding (5.8 per game) and blocks (55).
LAST TIME OUT
Monmouth beat Saint Joseph's 87-75 behind 25 from Reynolds and 24 from McClary.
WHAT'S TO COME
The Hawks head to Cincinnati on Saturday to play the Bearcats at 2:00 p.m. Â
