Greensboro, NC – Three Hawks scored in double figures as Monmouth University Men's Basketball used a late 12-3 run to down North Carolina A&T Thursday night, 72-63. Abdi Bashir Jr. led the way for MU with 21 points, while Madison Durr had 16 points and six rebounds.
 
With Monmouth up 10, North Carolina A&T chipped away and ultimately put together an 8-0 run to tie the game at 56 with 9:36 remaining. Dok Muordar caught a lob immediately to put Monmouth back in front to stay, with the Hawks posting an 8-0 run of their own to lead by nine with 2:27 remaining.
 
Monmouth jumped to a 6-0 lead and never looked back, with a 15-2 run putting them up by their largest margin of the night after Justin Ray's fadeaway jumper at 8:44 to make it 27-14. The lead was at double figures for the bulk of the first half, with Bashir's long two sending it to half with the Hawks up 45-36.
 
NOTES AND QUOTES
 
"We feel like we've been getting better on defense. These guys have been fighting through all of this and our defense has been pretty good the last three games. When your defense is good, you can win anywhere." – Head Coach King Rice
 
"We've worked really hard all season to get these wins. We've been challenged, we had to prove ourselves in a hostile environment. They had a run in the second half but we had to get back to what we do, defending the ball. To come into these environments and win, you have to be a team and have energy." – Guard Madison Durr
 
-Abdi Bashir Jr. scored 20+ points for the eighth time in 10 games.
-Monmouth is now 5-0 all time against North Carolina A&T.
-Jack Collins had double-digit rebounds for the second straight game.
-All seven of Dok Muordar's points came in the second half.
-MU posted consecutive wins for the first time this year.
-Monmouth is 3-2 in the CAA for the first time ever.
-MU won despite making just two threes, the least triples in a win since 1/4/24 vs. Towson (1).

NUMBERS CRUNCH
 
-Monmouth outshot North Carolina A&T, 42% to 33%.
-MU outrebounded the Aggies, 41-40.
-The Hawks dominated the paint, 36-20.
-MU never trailed, leading for 37:25.

UP NEXT
-Monmouth visits Campbell on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The game will air on FloCollege, and on the radio on the Monmouth Digital Network and the Varsity Network app.