BUIES CREEK, N.C.  – Five Monmouth players reached double figures for the first time this season as the men's basketball team earned an 88-73 victory over Campbell on Saturday afternoon in North Carolina.

Two games removed from a career-best 27 points, Justin Ray led all scorers with 24 points while Jason Rivera-Torres added 19 and notched his fifth double-double of the season. Jack Collins poured in a season-best 17 points and dished out nine assists, while Andrew Ball and Cornelius Robinson III each had 11 points.

After falling behind 5-0 in the first minute, two three-pointers from Ray helped Monmouth take an early 13-11 lead just under six minutes in. Monmouth forced three Campbell turnovers in the opening 10 minutes, and a lay-up from Ball at the 12-minute mark gave the Hawks a 19-14 lead.

Collins took control of the remainder of the half for the Hawks, dishing eight assists and finishing the first 20 minutes with 10 points. Ball, coming off a career-best 19 points against Hampton on Thursday, added eight points in the first half against the Camels. Neither team led by more than five over the opening period, and Ray's layup with 21 seconds left gave Monmouth a 42-40 lead heading into the locker rooms.

Ray continued his hot shooting early in the second half, making two more threes to give him a game-high 19 points. A 13-2 run, aided by five-straight made field goals, helped the Hawks establish a 16 point edge, 71-55, with nine minutes to play.

The lead grew to as many as 17 before the final buzzer sounded on an 88-63 Monmouth win.

Quotes

• "I'm so happy we got the win. Campbell came to our place and got the win to start conference play. It was a total team effort from my guys today. We really needed it, after dropping one the other night and we needed it. We are a resilient group and never stop fighting. We are going to keep giving it everything we've got."

Notes

• Five Hawks scored in double figures for the first time since Feb. 13, 2025, against Stony Brook.
• The Hawks shot 53.3 percent from deep, it was the fifth win of the season when the Hawks have shot over 40 percent from beyond-the-arc.
• The Hawks shot 58.2 percent from the floor, their highest shooting percentage in a conference game since joining the CAA prior to the 2022-23 season.
• Justin Ray scored a game-high 24 points, the second time in the last three games that Ray has reached at least 24. He also added five threes, giving him 13 connections from deep in the last three games.
• Jason Rivera-Torres scored 19 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds, earning his fifth double-double of the season. Rivera-Torres became the second player in program history to have at least five double-doubles in the team's first 21 games.
• Jack Collins scored a season-high 17 points, dished nine assists and grabbed six rebounds.
• Andrew Ball followed up his career-best 19-point performance against Hampton with 11 points and four rebounds against the Camels.
• Cornelius Robinson had 11 points, scoring in double figures for the first time since Jan. 15 against Drexel.
• Collins started the 116th game of his career; he needs to make one more start to move into second place on the program's all-time starts list.
• The Hawks outrebounded Campbell, 43-27.
• Monmouth tied its season-high with 21 assists.
• After leading by two at halftime, Monmouth held Campbell to 32 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes.
• Monmouth finishes the regular season 1-1 against Campbell.

Up Next

• Monmouth returns home to host North Carolina A&T on Thursday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. That game will air on FloCollege and SNY.