Monmouth took on the Drexel Dragons in an intense matchup on Jan. 30. Guard Madison Durr set an OceanFirst Bank Center record scoring 40 points. Guard Abdi Bashir wasn’t too far behind with 32 points. The arena was on fire and packed with fans that helped bring in
the first home game after a four game road trip.
This game was also put together to celebrate Student Appreciation Day. Students were provided with free pizza, donuts, hot chocolate, beanies and Monmouth Mob t-shirts. While the athletics department did a fair job making their fans comfortable, the real question became, will the Hawks be able to deliver the win?
After two overtime quarters, Monmouth was able to come out on top and serve up a win. The game started aggressively with defense in man to man. The Hawks might have tipped the bar too far causing them to collect their first foul which gave the Dragons an opportunity to secure two free throws and put points on the board. When they got possession of the ball back, forward Cornelious Robinson shot a jumper assisted by Durr, evening the score. There were several back-and-forth moments in the game.
The Dragons were able to pull ahead slightly after forward Victor Panov shot a clean three, bringing the score to 7-11. Bashir, who is ranked second in the nation in made three pointers, shot adrenaline into the crowd with one of his signature triples. This gave the Hawks the lead once again, 17-15.
Monmouth’s defense was a huge highlight of the night, keeping the Dragons in check. Forward Jordan Meka had back-to-back blocks that made the choir sing. Solid blocks delivered like this set the offense up beautifully, allowing room for Bashir to work his magic.
Towards the end of the first half, the Hawks had a back-to-back turnover; an attempt for a 3 pointer that was blocked by Delaware’s Clem Edomwonyln that was exchanged for a dunk.
The Dragon’s continued to fight back, but Durr was determined to close those gaps in the score. The first half ended with the Hawks ahead by 10 points (44-33).
The second half is where things really began to heat up. It was clear that Drexel really wanted this win, returning back to the court with guns blazing. Collins was able to make a jumper, adding two points onto the Hawks lead. After Monmouth missed a 3-point shot, Jason Drake for Drexel showed them how it was done securing his own.
The Dragons were able to catch up quickly making it a 6-point game with eight minutes left in the second half. Andrew Ball was able to keep the fire hot with a slam dunk that kept the fans on their feet. After sinking two free throws it became a seven-point game. When the Dragons got the ball back, Sophomore Guard Villiam Garica Adsten sunk a 3, sending a message to the hawks that they were still in it to win it. Monmouth responded with two more threes by Collins which at one point looked like a 3 point shoot out match.
The Dragons caught completely up to the Hawks making this now a one-point game, but Bashir pulled off another fascinating three keeping their lead alive. There was a lot of exchange between free throws and layups but when it came down to one second, Shane Blakeney (Drexel) locked in for his team and shot a buzzer beater three making the score 80-80 going straight into overtime.
Drexel makes the first basket in the brand-new quarter, but Bashir isn’t too far behind with another three. This part of the game was played at a very fast pace which resulted in back-to-back scoring. It seemed that the Hawks were careful during this part of the game playing very strategically. Madison Durr was frontman when it came to guiding the Hawks. Throughout the game he constantly kept Monmouth’s lead alive. He collected tons of free throws and incredible layups. Drexel sunk successful free throws by Senior Guard Yame Butler tied the score again (91-91) resulting in another overtime quarter.
The Hawks were finally able to come out of the fire alive. The Dragons finally slipped up and couldn’t manage to score points in the last 2 minutes of the game. Durr was on fire scoring all points for the Hawks in this quarter, but one free throw made by Muordar. The game ended on a 7-0 run with the score standing at 104-97.
