WASHINGTON, D.C.  – The No. 4 Monmouth men's basketball team used a stifling defensive effort to get past No. 5 Drexel in the CAA Quarterfinals, 65-57, on Sunday afternoon in Washington, D.C.

With the victory, Monmouth advances to tomorrow's semifinals, where it will take on No. 9 Campbell at 6 p.m. from CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C. The game will air on CBS Sports Network.

The Hawks trailed by double digits in the first half but rallied late, holding the Dragons to 28 percent shooting in the second half to advance to the CAA semifinals for the first time since joining the conference for the 2022-23 season.

Stefanos Spartalis and Jason Rivera-Torres led the Hawks with 14 points each, while Justin Ray added 11 and Kavion McClain had nine points, four steals and four assists.

Drexel started the game three-for-three from deep to counter five quick points from Andrew Ball and took an early 11-6 lead after four minutes. McClain and Rivera-Torres hit threes on back-to-back possessions, but the Dragons made four straight field goals to take a 22-14 lead just before the 12 minute mark.

Drexel pushed the lead to 11 with 8:55 remaining in the half, but five straight points from Justin Ray on consecutive possessions anchored a 7-0 spurt to get the Hawks back within four, 29-25. Neither team scored for over three minutes before Spartalis finished through contact and converted at the line, shrinking the deficit to just one. Spartalis finished a feed from Rivera-Torres on the team's next trip down the court to give Monmouth its first lead of the day, but the Dragons scored to end their six and a half minute scoring drought, maintaining a 33-32 lead at the half.

Spartalis had a team-best 10 points, four rebounds and two blocks in the first half, while Kavion McClain was credited with three steals to go along with five points in the opening 20 minutes.

A dunk from Ball gave Monmouth an early lead in the second half and a Jack Collins putback gave the Hawks a four-point edge before the Dragons scored back-to-back buckets to tie the game at 40 with 15:26 to play.

That was part of an 13-3 Drexel run that gave the Dragons a 48-43 advantage with 10:31 on the clock. Down five, Ray converted on a coast-to-coast layup before Rivera-Torres hit a three to tie the game at 48-48.

Spartalis hit a cutting Collins coming out of the under-eight media timeout to give Monmouth the lead back. Spartalis hit a pair from the charity stripe and Rivera-Torres made a floater in the lane, making it an 11-0 run and giving the Hawks a six-point edge, 54-48, forcing a Drexel timeout with 4:31 to play.

The Dragons made a free throw with 3:05 to play, its first point in 7:26 of gametime, but the Hawks were able to extend the lead to as many as nine, not allowing Drexel to get closer than five in the final minutes, closing out the first CAA quarterfinal victory in program history.

Notes

• Stefanos Spartalis scored a team-best 14 points and collected six rebounds. He went 5-of-7 from the field and connected on four of his five free throws.
• Spartalis has double figures in six of his last seven games.
• Jason Rivera-Torres also had a team-best 14 points on Sunday afternoon, adding eight rebounds, two assists, three steals and a block.
• The All-CAA Second-Team selection has scored in double figures in five straight games and has at least three swipes in nine games this season.
• Justin Ray scored 11 points and had a career-best two blocks.
• Kavion McClain scored nine points and had a season-best four steals. It was also the third time in nine games this campaign that McClain played a full 40 minutes.
• The Hawks finished with 10 blocks in the game. It was the most blocks for the Hawks since they had 11 against Campbell on Dec. 31.
• Drexel's 57 points are the fewest scored by a Monmouth opponent in the CAA Tournament. The Dragons were held to 24 second-half points, also the fewest in a half in the CAA Tournament by a Hawks' opponent.
• The Monmouth defense held Drexel to 28 percent shooting in the second half, the lowest by a Hawks opponent in the CAA Tournament. The Dragons' 34.5 percent shooting percentage for the game was also the lowest opponent shooting rate for Monmouth in the tournament.
• This was Monmouth's fourth all-time win at the CAA Tournament. The Hawks have won one game at each iteration of the competition since 2023.

Up Next

• Monmouth will play in the CAA Semifinals for the first time in program history tomorrow night when it faces No. 9 Campbell at 6 p.m. from CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C. The game will air on CBS Sports Network.