West Long Branch, NJ – Abdi Bashir Jr. scored 31 points, his third game with 30 or more points this season, as Monmouth University Men's Basketball rolled to a 78-56 win over Stony Brook in the CAA opener. The win was MU's 15^th straight at home, setting a new school record.
 
MU's lead was never below double digits the entire second half, with Bashir scoring 15 of the first 18 points out of the half to put MU up 55-38. MU used a late 9-0 run to lead by the largest margin of the night, 27, with Bashir scoring 20 of his 31 in the final 20 minutes en route to the 22-point win.
 
Monmouth took an early 7-point lead on a Justin Ray layup and never looked back, slowly building the lead in the opening half. Up by four with 4:03 to go, Monmouth closed the period on a 9-1 run to take a 37-25 lead to the locker room.
 
NOTES AND QUOTES
 
"I thought our team did a great job preparing, they did everything they were supposed to do. I thought we did a good job on them defensively, we really guarded their stuff, we held a lot of their guys under their average.
 
"Coach has been preaching more and more about defense, everyone being in the right spots, talking and buying in so with Coach preaching that every day in practice, it makes it easier for everyone to lock in and bring that intensity." – Sophomore Cornelius Robinson III
 
"We came in 0-0, it's a new ballgame. We can't get any of the losses back, the past is the past, and I've been telling everybody this team isn't what the record says. We believe in ourselves and our coaching staff, and we have a clean slate." – Sophomore Abdi Bashir

-Monmouth set the program record for consecutive home wins with 15 straight.
-Assistant coach Clive Bentick assumed head coaching responsibilities for the game.
-Abdi Bashir scored 30 points for the third time this season.
-Bashir now has 57 threes on the year, one shy of the national lead (Tyler McGhie – UC San Diego)
-The Hawks are 1-0 in the CAA for the second straight year.
-MU's 15 straight home wins is the 10^th longest streak in the nation.
-Dok Muordar tied a career-best with eight points.
-Bashir tied a career-high with 12 made field goals.
-Jaret Valencia tied a season-best with four blocks.
-MU and Stony Brook now have three wins apiece in the all-time series.

NUMBERS CRUNCH
-Monmouth outshot Stony Brook 55% to 33%
-The Hawks dominated from beyond the arc, 53% to 15%
-Monmouth was better on the glass, 38-31
-The Blue and White led for 36:10 and only trailed for 90 seconds
 
UP NEXT
-Monmouth visits Delaware Saturday at 4:00 p.m. The game will air on FloCollege and on the radio via the Monmouth Digital Network.