WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.  – Behind a career-best 27 points and seven three-pointers from Justin Ray, the Monmouth University men's basketball team rallied from down eight at the half to defeat Northeastern, 81-68, on Monday.

The Hawks (9-10, 3-3 CAA), who shot just seven percent from deep in the first half, connected on 57.7% of their second-half shot attempts and outscored the Huskies 51-30 over the final 20 minutes. Jason Rivera-Torres scored 17 points and earned his fourth double-double of the season, helping Monmouth snap its two-game slide.

The Hawks started 1-of-8 from the field and trailed 12-2 after 4:27. The Hawks responded with a 16-7 run, powered by seven points from Andrew Ball, to get back within four, 21-16, near the midway point of the period. After Rivera-Torres' first points of the afternoon got the Hawks back within one, Ball finished through contact to give Monmouth its first lead since the first minute of the ballgame, 22-21, with seven minutes to play in the first half.

The Huskies responded with 11 in a row to reestablish a 10-point edge, 32-22, and grew the lead to as many as 12 late in the half. Ball's 11 points in the opening 20 minutes, including a basket in the final minute, kept the Hawks within eight, 38-30, at the intermission.

Justin Ray came out firing in the second half, anchoring a 10-0 Monmouth run with three three-pointers in a 2:07 span which gave the Hawks a 43-41 lead and forced a Northeastern timeout. Ray stayed red hot, hitting three more from distance in the next four minutes, helping Monmouth go up seven, 58-51, with 11:25 to play.

The Hawks' defense was lights out in the second half, and the offense continued to click on all cylinders, as Ray hit his seventh three of the period, en route to setting his new career best and carrying the Hawks to the 81-68 victory.

Notes

• Justin Ray hit seven three-pointers in the second half and set a new career-high with 27 points.
• Ray becomes the fifth CAA player to make seven threes in a single game this season and is the first Monmouth player to accomplish the feat since Abdi Bashir had eight against Elon on Feb. 27, 2025.
• Ray becomes the first Monmouth player since at least 2001 to make seven three-pointers in a half.
• All 27 of Ray's points came in the second half.
• Jason-Rivera Torres secured his fourth double-double of the season, scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
• Rivera-Torres becomes the first Monmouth player with at least four double-doubles in a season since Nikita Konstantynovskyi had six in the 2023-24 campaign.
• JRT's 11 rebounds match his career-best, a mark he has hit three times this season.
• Andrew Ball scored 11 points, all in the first half, and grabbed six rebounds. It was his eighth game of the season in double figures.
• The Hawks held Northeastern to 16.7 percent shooting from beyond-the-arc, the lowest of any Monmouth opponent in a game this season. It was the lowest percentage by an opponent since holding Stony Brook to 15 percent last season.
• This was Monmouth's first victory of the season when trailing at the break. The Hawks were down 38-30 at the intermission.
• With the win, it was the first time Monmouth overcame an eight-point or higher deficit at the half since rallying from down nine at the break to beat Hofstra on Feb. 20, 2025.
• Jack Collins started the 114th game of his career, moving him into sole possession of third place on the program's all-time starts list.
• A crowd of 2,313 filled the OceanFirst Bank Center on Monday morning, the largest crowd of the season to date.

Up Next
Monmouth heads south for a pair of matchups this weekend, beginning on Thursday against Hampton in Virginia. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on CBS Sport Network.