ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – A strong defensive performance in the second half helped the Monmouth University Men's Basketball team (20-12, 11-9 MAAC) take down Niagara University (14-16, 9-11 MAAC) in the quarterfinals of the 2022 MAAC Basketball Championships on Thursday night, 61-58. Walker Miller led the Hawks with 17 points while Shavar Reynolds added 15. With 6:11 to go in the first half, George Papas broke the program's single-season record for three pointers, knocking down his 98^th of the campaign.
 
In a tight second half that saw both teams turn up the pressure on the defensive end, the Hawks crafted a 10-4 scoring run following the under-12 media timeout. Reynolds scored six of his 15 during the run which extended MU's lead to a game-high seven points. The Purple Eagles cut the deficit to three with ten seconds remaining in the half, but Monmouth was able to prevent a three-point basket on Niagara's final possession as the buzzer sounded, pulling out the 61-58 victory.
 
Both teams went back and forth in a high-scoring first half that ended in a 35-35 tie. The Hawks got out to a quick 6-0 lead following a pair of threes by Reynolds and Miller, but Niagara countered with six points of their own. MU battled back with seven points to take a 13-6 lead, but the Purple Eagles tied the game again with 9:35 to go in the half with two layups and a trey. After the under-eight media timeout, both squads traded baskets with Niagara outscoring the Hawks by a slim 19-17 margin heading into halftime.
 
NOTES AND QUOTES
"I thought that was an awesome college game. I know a lot of those kids on that team, and I've become good friends with [head coach] Greg [Paulus]. I just think he's a sharp dude. I'm not surprised that his team is doing so well, and someday you'll be talking about Greg Paulus as one of the best coaches in the country." – Head Coach King Rice
 
"They make me want to be a better coach. They make me want to be a better man because of who they are as guys. They have come and lifted me up, they've lifted our program up, and then tonight on a night when we really needed them, they came through." – Head Coach King Rice on Walker Miller and Shavar Reynolds
 
"We're just trying to focus on one game at a time. Obviously we have big dreams and goals here, but the biggest thing for us was this game. This is undoubtedly the biggest game of our season and we wanted to treat it as such. The MAAC's a tough league, it's a physical league, and you got to show up every night and play really hard. Trying to be the hardest-playing team and the most-together team is always our motto and that's what we tried to stick to tonight." – Center Walker Miller
 
-Monmouth advances to the MAAC semifinals for the fifth time in the last seven tries.
-MU picked up its 20^th win of the season for the third time under King Rice, seventh time in the programs DI history and 16^th time in the overall program history.
-George Papas' first-half three gave him 98 for the season, topping the program's single-season record for made threes.
-This marked Monmouth's first MAAC Tournament win since the 2019 semifinals.
-MU takes the season series from Niagara, 2-1.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-The Hawks shot a season-best 56.3% from three.
-MU outshot Niagara 41% to 36%.
-Monmouth outrebounded Niagara 42-33.
-Monmouth led for 35:52 and did not trail in the second half.
 
UP NEXT
Monmouth will play #9 Rider in the MAAC semifinals on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. in Atlantic City, NJ.