WILMINGTON, NC – Monmouth University Men's Basketball battled UNC Wilmington all night, with Xander Rice scoring a game-high 26 points, but the Hawks fell on the road to the Seahawks, 69-56 Thursday night at Trask Coliseum.
 
Monmouth answered an early UNCW run that saw the Seahawks up nine by cutting it to one after two Rice triples and a pair of Cornelius Robinson Jr. free throws at 9:45. UNCW got hot, making four straight field goals to extend the lead to 13, the eventual final.
 
A back-and-forth first half saw UNC Wilmington lead by six after a 7-0 run, but Monmouth responded with consecutive Jack Collins threes to tie the game. MU led by two after consecutive Rice foul shots before UNCW took a 32-28 lead into the locker room.

NOTES AND QUOTES

"I have to give Wilmington credit on and off the floor. Jack Collins carried us a bit in the first half, Jaret was off the chain on defense blocking everything and he guarded their point guard. We're a group that's coming, we're going to learn from this one. We knew this one was going to be tough, Wilmington's a really good team."  - Head Coach King Rice

-Xander Rice topped the 20-point mark for the ninth time this season.
-Jaret Valencia's five blocks were a career high and the most by a Hawk in a game since Chris Brady on January 14, 2017.
-Cornelius Robinson's seven rebounds were the second most of his career.
-Monmouth tied a season-high from the foul line, shooting 80%.
-Monmouth had a two-game winning streak snapped, and lost its first CAA game this season.

NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Each team had 36 rebounds.
-MU blocked eight shots to UNCW's two.
-There were nine ties and 12 lead changes.
-UNCW shot 31 free throws to Monmouth's 15.

UP NEXT
-Monmouth visits College of Charleston on Saturday for a 4:30 p.m. tip. The game will air on FloSports, The CW Low Country in the Charleston area, and on the radio via the Monmouth Digital Network.