TOWSON, Md. – Behind a strong defensive effort, the Monmouth men's basketball team earned its first conference win of the season, taking down Towson, 62-48, on Saturday evening.
 
The Hawks (7-8, 1-1 CAA) held the Tigers to 27.3 percent shooting from the field, while Jason Rivera-Torres matched his career-high with a 21-point effort in the victory.
 
The Hawks took an early 12-8 lead, powered by six early points by Stefanos Spartalis. Minutes later, Justin Ray and Rivera-Torres combined for five quick points to give the Hawks a 19-10 advantage. The Monmouth defense took over the remainder of the first half, holding the Tigers to just two points over eight minutes. The Hawks' offense stalled as well, going four minutes between points and led by three, 25-22, after the opening 20 minutes.
 
The Tigers scored the first six points of the second half to retake the lead, 28-25, before Monmouth responded with 11 in a row to go back in front by eight, capped off with a Dok Mourdar dunk that forced a Towson timeout.
 
Mourdar made the lead double digits out of the timeout with a layup, followed by four consecutive points from Ball, making the lead 12, 42-30.
 
Rivera-Torres hit a three with under 10 minutes to go to open a 14-point edge, 48-34. Towson got back within 10, 53-43, but another 6-0 Monmouth run allowed the visitors to close out their first CAA win of the season.
 
Notes

• Towson's 27.3 field goal percentage is the lowest by a Monmouth opponent since holding the Tigers to 26.7 percent on Jan. 4, 2024.
• Towson's 48 points are the fewest by a Monmouth opponent since holding the Tigers to 43 on Jan. 4, 2024, in a 51-43 Hawks victory.
• Monmouth held Towson to just 24.3 percent from the field in the second half.
• Jason Rivera-Torres matched his career-best with 21 points, scoring 20+ for the fourth time this season. The guard leads the Hawks with 15.0 points per game.
• Andrew Ball scored 12 points, reaching double figures for the fifth time this season.
• Freshman Stefanos Spartalis scored 10 points, reaching double figures for the 10th time this season.
• Dok Mourdar matched his season-high with four blocked shots.
• Jack Collins started the 110th game of his Monmouth career, moving into sole possession of seventh place on the program's all-time starts list.

 
Up Next
Monmouth will return home on Thursday to host William & Mary. Tipoff from the OceanFirst Bank Center is set for 7 p.m.