The Monmouth Hawks (11-18) beat the Hofstra Pride (13-16) this past Thursday (2/20/25) by the score of 68-62. Redshirt sophomore and guard Andrew Ball was the hero for the Hawks, hitting a clutch three pointer with 0:22 left in the game to take a 64-61 lead and secure the win. The Hawks late-game defense also deserves praise, as the team closed out the game on an 11-1 run.
Junior guard Madsion Durr led the Hawks scoring efforts, recording 19 points. Durr also posted up a statline of four rebounds and four assists.
Ball recorded seven points and six rebounds coming off the bench. All seven points came on an impressive personal 7-0 run in a 1:54 stretch to help secure the victory at the end of the game for Monmouth.
The Hawks started off the game slow offensively, and found themselves in a quick 14-point deficit. The Hawks were trailing by the score of 25-11 with 10:07 to go in the first half after Hofstra’s Silas Sunday made a layup.
The Hawks eventually found themselves down by 16 points with 5:04 left in the first half after a three-pointer from Hofstra’s Jaquan Sanders that made the score 36-20.
After this basket from Hofstra, Monmouth finished the first half on a 7-0 run, which cut the Pride’s lead to 36-27 going into halftime.
Monmouth’s offense came into the second half warmer than Hofstra’s, eventually cutting Hofstra’s lead to just two points after sophomore guard Abdi Bashir Jr. sank a three pointer that made the score 45-43 with 13:22 left in the second half.
Hofstra’s offense seemed to have an answer every time Monmouth would get close to tying the game up, resulting in the Pride eventually gaining a five point lead with 4:07 left in the game thanks to a two point tip shot from Hofstra’s Michael Graham that put the score at 60-55 in favor of Hofstra.
The Hawks locked in, during the final four minutes of play, going on an 11-1 run to finish the game, and officially took the lead over Hofstra with just 0:22 left in the game after the clutch three pointer from Ball that put the score at 64-61 and helped secure the 68-62 victory on the road against the Hofstra Pride.
The Monmouth Hawks went on to defeat the Northeastern Huskies (15-14) at the OceanFirst Bank Center Monday, Feb. 24 by the score of 78-73. Bashir led the charge for the Hawks, racking up a total of 30 points and going an impressive 9-13 from behind the arc. This set a program record for the most threes ever made in one season.
Sophomore forward Cornelius Robinson III was a difference maker for the Hawks, posting a statline of 18 points and eight rebounds, going 7-11 on field goals.
Monmouth started off the game hot, going up by the score of 18-9 after a Bashir three-pointer with 13:07 remaining in the first half.
Minutes later Northeastern fought back by hitting two three-point connections by LA Pratt and JB Frankel. This gave the Huskies a quick 28-26 lead with 6:31 left in the first half.
The Hawks responded efficiently, going on a 6-0 run and taking a 34-28 lead after a layup from Robinson. This put the Hawks up 34-28 with 3:34 remaining.
The teams finished out the remaining minutes of the first half even, resulting in Monmouth taking a 39-33 lead into the half.
The Hawks and Huskies both delivered in the second half, both having success getting to the basket. It was not until a layup by Robinson with 4:07 left in the game, that the Hawks took a more comfortable 70-65 lead.
The Huskies responded well in the ensuing minutes, cutting Monmouth’s lead to the score of 70-69 with 2:04 left in the game after Northeastern’s Frankel made a pair of free-throws.
Monmouth would then take three free-throws in a row and go a perfect 3/3. This gave the Hawks some breathing room, going up 76-71 with 0:42 left in the game.
Bashir sealed the win for the Hawks, making it a two possession game after a made free-throw with 0:16 left in the game that put Monmouth up 78-73.
This lead was too much for the Huskies to overcome, which resulted in Monmouth’s 78-73 victory.
The Hawks are now an above average 9-7 in conference play (6th in CAA). The Hawks will look to extend their win streak to three games when they host the Elon Phoenix (17-12) this upcoming Thursday (2/27/25) at OceanFirst Bank Center.
