The Monmouth Hawks (7-16) claimed a victory over the Delaware Blue Hens (11-12) by the score of 92-83 this past Saturday, Feb. 1, at Ocean First Bank Center. The Hawks have proven they are a dangerous team to play at home, maintaining an impressive 5-1 record this season while playing in front of the home crowd.
Standout guards Madison Durr and Abdi Bashir combined for more than half of the team’s scoring as the duo scored 52 points.
Guard Andrew Ball had an impressive day, scoring 10 points while also playing a key role defensively, boasting a statline of 3 blocks and 7 rebounds.
The Hawks jumped off to an early lead after a Bashir three pointer and a layup by center Dok Muordar set the score at 13-7 with 16:31 remaining in the first half.
Delaware quickly fought back and took the lead with 11:56 left in the first half after guard Tahron Allen drilled a three pointer that gave the Blue Hens a 20-19 advantage. Thanks to an impressive stretch of defensive play, Monmouth went on a 10-0 run immediately after this and had a comfortable 29-20 lead with 9:15 left in the first half.
Delaware would continue to battle back, but did not regain a lead until being up 42-41 with 30 seconds left in the first half after a dunk from guard Erik Timko.
Monmouth only let this lead last for 21 seconds, as Ball then hit a clutch 3-pointer with 9 seconds left in the half, which took the Hawks into halftime with a slight 44-42 lead.
The second half started off neck and neck, but Monmouth finally gained some breathing room after Bashir sank a three pointer with 12:25 left in the game that put the score at 66-58 in favor of the Hawks.
The Blue Hens kept battling back, tying the game at 73 a piece with 7:02 remaining in the second half after a layup from guard Trent Middleton.
Minutes later, Delaware would take a 77-76 lead after a layup from Allen with just 4:56 left in the game.
This would be the last lead the Blue Hens would hold as Monmouth responded with a few clutch shots and gave themselves an 86-79 lead with 2:41 left in the game after a pair of free throws from Durr.
Delaware would not be able to recover from this disadvantage after Bashir and Durr combined for a perfect 6-6 behind the free throw line in the last 40 seconds of the game, ultimately securing the 92-83 victory over the Blue Hens.
Monmouth dominated Delaware in the block category as the Hawks had a season high 11 blocks compared to the Blue Hen’s zero blocks. Monmouth also outshot Delaware’s offense by 10% (52%-42%). Both of these were key factors that helped the Hawks win this game.
Monmouth has now improved to a record of 5-5 in CAA play and will try to improve on this when they take on the Hampton Pirates (11-12) on Thursday (2/6/25) at Ocean First Bank Center at 7pm.
