Washington, D.C. – Xander Rice and Jaret Valencia scored in double figures, but Monmouth University Men's Basketball was defeated Sunday in the CAA quarterfinals by top-seeded College of Charleston, 83-59. Monmouth concludes its 2023-24 season with 18 victories and its first berth into the CAA quarterfinals.
An early 18-4 run in the second half that saw Jack Collins and Valencia hit threes brought Monmouth within seven after trailing by 21. The Cougars followed that with 14-0 run to regain the 21-point margin, ultimately winning 83-59.
Monmouth used an 11-5 run highlighted by baskets from four different players to draw even at 13:02 of the first half. An even first 10 minutes saw Rice nail a long triple at 11:25 to get things square at 11:25. Charleston took advantage of a 15-1 run to lead by a 44-29 margin at the break.
Notes and Quotes
"Tough day for us today, and we're going to give Charleston all the credit. We got it down to seven, I thought it was turning a little bit but Pat [Kelsey] does an incredible job." – Head Coach King Rice
-Xander Rice scored 16 points to finish the season with 674, the second most in a season in program history.
-Jaret Valencia blocked two shots, and finishes the season with 55, tied for sixth most in a season.
-Monmouth advanced to its first ever CAA quarterfinals.
-MU concludes the CAA Championships having missed just three total free throws.
-Valencia scored in double figures for the 13th time.
-Jakari Spence was the only Hawk to start every game this season.
 Numbers Crunch
-Charleston shot 51% to Monmouth's 37%.
-MU had the only three blocked shots of the game.
-Each team had 12 offensive rebounds.
-Monmouth concludes the 2023-24 season at 18-15, and 10-8 in CAA play with a trip to the CAA quarterfinals.
