The Monmouth Hawks (5-15) took on the Elon Phoenix (14-6) Thursday, Jan. 23, at Schar Center, in Elon, North Carolina. The Hawks battleted to stay competitive throughout the game, but ultimately could not get the job done, resulting in an 83-71 home victory for the Elon Phoenix.
Guard Abdi Bashir led the Hawks efforts in scoring with a team-high 22 points, hitting five shots from behind the arc. This was Bashir’s 13th game of the season where he scored at least 20 points.
Elon’s guard TJ Simpkins was a key factor for Elon’s victory. Simpkins put up 26 points and went 7/13 on field goals (FGs). The Hawks found themselves down by 12 at halftime with the score sitting at 41-29, but were able to close the gap after going on a 9-0 run early in the second half, making the score 47-44 in favor of Elon.
Monmouth managed to hang around and took their first lead of the second half after a Bashir three pointer with 7:18 left in the game, giving the Hawks a 60-58 lead.
In the final minutes, Elon managed to gain control of the game from the free throw line. Eventually, resulting in an 83-71 road loss for the Hawks.
The Hawks had a FG percentage of 39% compared to Elon’s 46.3% and were outrebounded 40-31, which were key factors that allowed the Phoenix to take this game.
Another notable statistic was Elon’s free throws as their team went 27-35 at the line (77.1%) compared to Monmouth’s 17-25 (68.0%).
After a long road trip, the Monmouth Hawks (5-16) will look to get back in the win column this upcoming Saturday (2/1/25) when they host the Delaware Blue Hens (11-10) at OceanFirst Bank Center at 2pm.
