QUEENS, N.Y. – Three players scored in double figures as the Monmouth University men's basketball team fell 78-63 to No. 13/14 St. John's in the season opener on Monday night.
The Hawks, who were facing a ranked team for the first time since the 2024 season were led by 17 points from
Jakai Sanders.
Madison Durr came off the bench to contribute 15 points while
Ashton Walker added 11 points.
"Tip your hat to St. John's, we gave them a good run," said Monmouth head coach
King Rice. "We got blitzed in the first six minutes but then we settled in. Give St. John's all the credit. I know we didn't get the win but they didn't get how they wanted it either."
Monmouth scored the first points of the game on a
Stefanos Spartalis jumper. However, the Red Storm responded with an 18-2 run and took an 18-4 lead with 15:41 to go in the first half.
The two teams battled over the next several minutes on both ends of the court.
A 7-2 run for the Hawks, capped by a Sanders' three-pointer at 9:53, made it a 28-16 game.
St. John's pushed its lead back to 16 before the Hawks scored eight of the game's next 10 points and cut the Red Storm lead to eleven, 37-26.
Jack Collins had a triple for the Hawks in that stretch.
St. John's closed the half on an 8-2 run and took a 45-29 lead at the break.
Gallery: (11-2-2026) Monmouth Men's Basketball at St. John's
The Red Storm came out of the break strong and pushed its lead to 50-31 with 18:44 to play.
The two sides continued to battle over the next several minutes. A 7-1 run, that featured five points from Durr, pulled the Hawks to within 12, 59-47 with 9:07 to play in the game.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Ian Jackson pushed the St. John's lead back to 19, 67-48 with 6:29 left on the clock.
The Hawks ended the game on a 10-4 run which made the final score, 78-63.
The Hawks won the second half scoring battle in the contest, 34-33. Monmouth finished the game shooting 42.9% from the floor to St. John's 41.9%. St. John's was aided by going 20-for-25 from the foul line. The Red Storm edged the Hawks 40-31 in the rebounding battle.
Sanders added a team-best five rebounds to go along with his 17 points. Durr and Walker each contributed a pair of assists to go along with their double digits in the points column.
Jack Collins made his 131st appearance in a Monmouth uniform when he entered the game with 16:07 to go in the first half. Collins tied Justin Robinson for sixth place on the career games played list at Monmouth.
Keyshawn Hall led St. John's with 26 points.
The Hawks are back in action on Saturday, Nov. 7 when they take on Rhode Island in the first game of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off at the Mohegan Sun. Opening tip is set for 4 p.m.
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