WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Behind a career-high 18 points from Andrew Ball, the Monmouth University men's basketball team took down William & Mary, 81-70, on Thursday evening inside the OceanFirst Bank Center.

The Hawks (8-8, 2-1 CAA), hit a season-high 10 three pointers and had four players reach double figures, picking up their second conference victory in a row.

After Justin Ray hit a three on the team's first possession, the Tribe scored the game's next six points and led 8-4 after five minutes of play. William & Mary went up 11-6, but a Jack Collins three-pointer capped off a 7-0 Monmouth run to take a 13-11 lead. 

The Tribe responded with a 9-3 spurt of its own to take the lead back, 20-16, with eight minutes to play in the opening half. After a pair of Ball connections from deep, Ray scored five in a row, and Jason Rivera-Torres hit a three to put the home side back in front, 27-25.

Monmouth continued to click offensively, scoring the game's next five points eventually leading 35-28 at the three-minute mark of the first half, and took a 37-34 advantage into the halftime locker room. The Hawks hit six three-pointers in the first half, matching the most shots from deep in a period this season.

A pair of connections from beyond-the-arc by Rivera-Torres early in the second half put Monmouth up 46-40 after nearly five minutes. With the Hawks up by five, Rivera-Torres hit his career-best fourth three of the game which put the home team ahead 56-48. After the Tribe got back within five, Ball and Rivera-Torres scored on back-to-back possessions to give Monmouth a 66-57 edge with 5:34 to play.

Cornelius Robinson III scored underneath the basket with 2:20 left to give Monmouth an 11-point lead, 73-62. Ball scored on an alley-oop to set his career-best and ice the game for the Hawks, who were able to close out the final 1:30 and an 81-70 victory.

Quotes
"We guarded them well, they average 80 points and we held them to 70. We really guarded them well. It was a great defensive effort from our guys. It was a good solid game for Monmouth today."
             - Monmouth Head Coach King Rice

Notes

• The 10 three-pointers Monmouth hit are its most in a game this season. The six shots from deep the Hawks connected on in the first half match its most in a half in 2025-26.
• Andrew Ball scored 18 points, surpassing his previous career-best of 16. The junior has hit for double figures in two straight games.
• ​​​​​​​Jason Rivera-Torres scored 19 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished four assists. The guard leads the Hawks while averaging 15.3 points per game and has scored in double figures in 12 straight contests.
• ​​​​​​​Rivera-Torres set a new career-best with four three pointers.
• ​​​​​​​Cornelius Robinson III set a season-high with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting and matched his season-best with eight rebounds.
• ​​​​​​​Justin Ray scored 12 points and hit two three-pointers. The sophomore is second on the team with 11.8 points per game
• ​​​​​​​Jack Collins flirted with a triple-double, scoring eight points, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing seven assists.
• ​​​​​​​Monmouth gets back to .500 for the first time since it was 5-5 after beating Princeton on Dec. 3.
• ​​​​​​​With the victory, Monmouth improves to 2-2 in the series against William & Mary. The home team has won all four matchups to this point.
• ​​​​​​​Jack Collins started the 111th game of his Monmouth career, moving into a tie for sixth place on the program's all-time starts list

Up Next
Monmouth will head to Long Island to face Hofstra on Saturday. Tipoff from the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex is set for 2 p.m.