LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – George Papas (Jersey City, NJ/Union Catholic) netted the game-winning three with 26.3 seconds left in overtime, Melik Martin(York, PA/York Catholic) scored a career-best 24 points and Marcus McClary (Linden, NJ/The Patrick School) posted his third career double-double as the Monmouth University Men's Basketball team (11-7, 11-6 MAAC) grinded out a win at Rider University (5-15, 5-12 MAAC) Thursday. The Hawks are locked into the second seed in the upcoming MAAC Tournament.

The Broncs opened the extra session with six of the first seven points to lead by five, but Martin and Deion Hammond (Mitchellville, MD/Riverdale Baptist School) scored at the rim to trim it to one. Papas got free in the wing out of a timeout and knocked home the eventual game-winner, before a great defensive stand led to McClary grabbing a defensive board and getting fouled with 0.6 seconds left, icing the comeback win.

MU opened the second half with a 13-2 run to reverse the halftime deficit and take the lead. Rider scored seven in a row, however, and eventually worked their lead to nine on a Dwight Murray jumper with 3:14 left. Martin finished at the rim and Papas nailed a three to ignite the comeback, before Myles Ruth (Hillside, NJ/Don Bosco Prep) poked one away and scored on a break to make it a two-point game. Following a Broncs basket, Papas converted a tough reverse layup before MU got a stop and McClary tied it at 68 from the foul line. MU got another stop and Papas' 180-footer went in and out at the horn to force overtime.

Monmouth led for the first 10 minutes of the game, sparked by two wide-open baskets to begin things from McClary. Rider fought back to tie it, and used a 20-6 run to lead by as many as 14. A quick 8-0 run from MU that took just 44 seconds made it a six-point margin, but Murray's long triple at the horn sent the Broncs to the intermission up nine.

NOTES AND QUOTES

"Deion and George and my seniors have never won here. They let me know that today was the first time. During the end of that game, it wasn't looking good but I'm so proud of my kids because they never quit. We have the seniors and you play your seniors late and usually good things happen." – King Rice

"Coach drew up a great play and I knew I was going to raise up from out of bounds. Deion and I trust each other with everything, he made the right play and I cashed out." – George Papas on the game-winning three
 
-The Hawks are secured the #2 seed in the upcoming MAAC Tournament.
-Melik Martin netted a career-high 24 points.
-Martin made his first eight shots and finished the game 10-12 from the field, tying him for 10^th all-time in field goal percentage in a single game (83.3%), tying him with Dave Calloway (2/18/29 vs. Robert Morris) and Fernando Sanders (2/9/89 vs. Loyola).
-Marcus McClary grabbed 11 rebounds to go with his 12 points, his third career double-double and first this season.
-The 11 rebounds ties McClary's career-high.
-King Rice won his 160^th game as the Monmouth head coach.
-George Papas hit five threes, the third most in a game in his career.
-The Monmouth seniors scored 67 of the team's 77 points in the game.
-All four seniors scored in double figures for the second time this season.
-Monmouth won at Rider for the first time in the career of this senior class, and the first time since February 6, 2017 behind 25 Justin Robinson points and a Chris Brady double-double.
-MU has now won three times this season when trailing at halftime.
-Monmouth is now 3-0 in overtime this season.

NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Monmouth outrebounded Rider 40-39.
-The Hawks outshot the Broncs 47.5% to 40.9%.
-MU outran Rider on the fast break 20-4.
-The Hawks won the paint, 38-24.
-The Hawks led for 11:52 of the game.
-Rider was led by 21 points from Dwight Murray.

UP NEXT
-The teams finish up the regular season tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. in Lawrenceville. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU, while the radio broadcast is available on MonmouthHawks.com via the Monmouth Digital Network.