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Monmouth University Athletics

EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN - NOVEMBER 4: Michigan State men’s basketball V Monmouth at The Breslin Center. (Photo by Rey Del Rio)
Del Rio Images
57
Monmouth MU 0-1,0-0 CAA
81
Winner Michigan St. MSU 1-0,0-0 Big Ten
Monmouth MU
0-1,0-0 CAA
57
Final
81
Michigan St. MSU
1-0,0-0 Big Ten
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Monmouth MU 27 30 57
Michigan St. MSU 38 43 81

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Monmouth Battles Michigan State on Opening Night, Fall 81-57

East Lansing, MI – Abdi Bashir Jr. scored 20 points, and the Hawks were within six in the second half, but Monmouth University Men's Basketball was held off by Michigan State University on opening night Monday at the Breslin Center, 81-57.
 
Trailing by 11 at the half, a Cornelius Robinson III three-point play and a fadeaway Bashir jumper made it a six-point game at 18:54. Monmouth again cut it to six at 17:38, and Aric Demings and Andrew Ball made threes to get it within 10, but a 13-3 Spartans run pushed the lead to 20 as they held off MU, 81-57.
 
MSU led by as many as 15 early, but MU got back in it from the foul line before Bashir and Justin Ray connected on four threes to close the half, narrowing the deficit to nine before going to the break down 38-27.
 
NOTES AND QUOTES

"We tried to make it interesting for them and Coach Izzo in the second half, we cut it to six. I was proud that we cut it to six, we won some four-minute stretches which was really big for us but then they just had too much. Credit to them and their staff, a really cool night for us and I'm still a proud coach because my team kept fighting." – Head Coach King Rice
 
-Abdi Bashir Jr. scored 20 points for the second time in his career, and was one point off his career high.
-Justin Ray became the first Monmouth true freshman to score in double figures on opening night since Deion Hammond in 2017.
-Seven Hawks made their Monmouth debuts tonight.
-Madison Durr notched his 31st career game in double figures and first as a Hawk.
-Cornelius Robinson III grabbed a career best 10 rebounds.
-Durr, Ray and Demings netted their first points as Hawks.
-MU is now 13-29 on opening night as a DI program.
-Andrew Ball played in his first game since the 2023 CAA Tournament.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Monmouth shot 93.7% from the foul line, going 15-16 and not missing until the closing minutes of the second half.
-Monmouth outshot MSU from 3, 30% to 17%.
-MU had seven steals to Michigan State's six.
 
UP NEXT
-Monmouth takes on Temple on Friday, November 8 at CURE Insurance Arena in the 2024 Jersey Jam at 6:00 p.m. The game will air on JerseyJam.Net and on the radio via the Monmouth Digital Network.
 
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