WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Xander Rice scored 29 points and Monmouth University Basketball led Northeastern University by as many as 27 in moving to 2-0 in the CAA Monday with an 81-62 victory. Rice was 11-12 from the field and a perfect 5-5 from three, setting a single-game program record for three-point shooting percentage.
 
Monmouth came out of the locker room and continued to add to the lead, with Jakari Spence and Jaret Valencia scoring twice each including a follow dunk from the latter to make it 59-40 Monmouth. MU did not let up, with freshman Abdi Bashir Jr. hitting three second-half triples and Cornelius Robinson Jr. finishing a three-point play, as the Hawks led by 20+ for the majority of the period and went up as many as 27.
 
With Northeastern leading 12-4, Rice flipped the game on his own, scoring 12 straight points to put Monmouth on top. He spearheaded a 31-7 run that included a 14-0 push capped by a Jaret Valencia transition slam to lead 35-19. Monmouth closed the half with two late Jack Collins free throws to lead 44-33 into the break, with Rice netting 24 first-half points.
 
NOTES AND QUOTES


"Today, we decided to cut the floor in half and I think that was really the key to us being solid enough to be able to get going the other way." – Head Coach King Rice

"Teams are guarding me in a lot of different ways and we practice that, so just take what they're giving me and try to make the easy play and take what's open." – Guard Xander Rice
 
-Xander Rice tied a program record for three-point percentage in a game, going 5-for-5 to match prior 5-for-5 nights from Dejan Delic, Collin Stewart and Je'lon Hornbeak.
-Rice made his final 11 shots and had 24 points in the first half, the most points in a half by a Hawk this season.
-Rice's 11 made field goals marked a career high.
-MU is 2-0 in the CAA for the first time ever and fourth time under Rice (2021-22, 2016-17, 2014-15)
-This was Monmouth's first win over Northeastern since 1991.
-Jakari Spence posted a season-high 11 points, his third career double-figure game.
-Nikita Konstantynovskyi posted his seventh game with nine or more rebounds this year.
-Jaret Valencia posted his fifth career game in double figures.
-Sam Fagan notched his first career block and played a career-best seven minutes.
-MU shot over 50% from the field for the fifth time this season.
-The game aired on national television via the CBS Sports Network.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Monmouth outshot Northeastern 53% to 34%.
-MU was better in the paint, 36-18.
-The Hawks dominated the fast break, 18-6.
-MU led for 30:18 on the night.
 
UP NEXT
-Monmouth heads to UNC Wilmington Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. The game will air on FloSports and on the radio via the Monmouth Digital Network.