The Monmouth Hawks (12-19) defeated the Elon Phoenix (17-14) by the score of 79-76 at OceanFirst Bank Center this past Thursday (2/27/25). This
win gave Monmouth ten wins in CAA play on the season (10-8).
Sophomore guard Abdi Bashir was a major factor in the win over the Phoenix, scoring 29 points and going 8-16 from behind the arc.
Sophomore forward Corneluis Robinson III also played a big role in this game, posting a statline of 21 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.
Junior guard Jack Collins was a very efficient passer, collecting a career high 10 assists in this game.
The Hawks offense started off slow, which caused them to find themselves trailing 10-2 with 16:12 left in the first half after Elon’s Isaac Harrell made a three pointer.
Elon’s offense continued to stay hot and went up 29-16 with 7:35 left in the first half after a made free-throw from Elon’s Sam Sherry.
In the final minutes of the first half, Monmouth was finally able to limit Elon’s scoring and cut the Phoenix lead to 42-36 going into halftime.
The Hawks were the better team coming out of halftime and eventually took the lead after back to back three-pointers from Bashir that made the score 54-52 in favor of Monmouth with 12:15 left in the game.
Elon quickly took the lead back after a three-pointer from Sherry that put the Phoenix up 64-62 with 7:09 left in the game.
Just a few minutes later, redshirt sophomore Jaret Valencia went on a personal 7-0 run for the Hawks. The run put the Hawks up 71-68 with 3:46 left to play.
The Phoenix would cut Monmouth’s lead to two points with 0:22 left in the game, but successful free throws from junior guard Madision Durr, Bashir, and Valencia sealed the narrow 79-76 victory over the Elon Phoenix for the Monmouth Hawks.
The Hawks went on to face Drexel at the Daskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday Mar. 1, falling short by just 10 points, 71-61, to conclude their regular season.
Drexel took a quick seven point lead in the first half, followed by a 7-0 run from the Hawks, that ultimately allowed them to take the lead after Robinson III recorded a three-point play. While the first half featured 11 lead changes, Robinson III secured the lead once again going into the half, 34-33.
Drexel found themselves up in the second and while the Hawks were able to get within six, a 9-0 run from the Dragons with 5:54 remaining locked in their win.
Robinson III finished with 10 rebounds, matching a career high, while Bashir Jr. added three made threes to his NCAA lead. He now has 121 made threes this season, which is only four away from the all-time CAA record.
Monmouth finishes their season sixth in the CAA with a 10-8 record. The #11 and #14 seeds will play Friday Mar. 7, where the winner will go on to play Monmouth at 8:30 p.m. Mar. 8.
