Monmouth Men’s Basketball played three games in three days at the Lafayette Classic, going 2-1 with victories on Friday and Sunday.
On Nov. 28, The Hawks took on Ball State in their first game in Easton. The Cardinals entered the game on a three-game losing streak, while the Hawks were coming off an overtime win against Robert Morris.
The game started off as a back-and-forth affair, with neither team being able to pull ahead by more than five points. A little over halfway through the first quarter, Monmouth went on a 7-0 run to take a 28-19 lead, the largest lead of the game for either team up to that point. Ball State cut into the deficit a little bit before halftime, as the Cardinals outscored the Hawks 10-7 to head into halftime only down six points.
Monmouth maintained the lead for the first nine minutes of the second half, before a 16-6 Ball State run gave the Cardinals their first lead since the score was 12-10 five minutes into the game.
Ball State’s lead did not last, as Monmouth outscored Ball State 22-7 after falling behind to take a 13 point lead with six minutes to go. Ball State didn’t get back within one possession after that run, as the Hawks held on for a 80-73 victory.
Redshirt junior guard Andrew Ball had one of his best career games as a Hawk, scoring 16 points and shooting 67% from the field. The 16 points were the most he has ever scored in a game in his collegiate career. Sophomore guard Jinup Dobuol scored 12 points, also a career high in a game. Senior guard Jack Collins and sophomore guard Justin Ray joined Ball and Doboul as the Hawks that scored double digits.
The next day, Monmouth took on the Le Moyne Dolphins. This game was tight all the way through, as no team led by more than seven points at any instance in the game. After losing the lead with six minutes left in the game, Monmouth was unable to get it back despite their best efforts. In a tied game with two minutes to go, a three point basket by Le Moyne’s Trent Mosquera gave them a 74-71 lead. The Dolphins held that lead for the rest of the game and won 83-79.
Junior guard Jason Rivera-Torres scored 21 points in the loss, which was a career high for him. He also had 11 rebounds, his second double-double of the season. Junior forward Cornelius Robinson III scored 14 points, a season high for him. Freshman forward Stefanos Spartalis was the only other Hawk to score in double digits, scoring 11 points.
On the final day of the Lafayette Classic, Monmouth took on the host of the event, the Lafayette Leopards. This game was the Hawks’ best of the three day stretch, as they controlled the game from start to finish for an 88-74 victory. A 19-3 run by the Hawks early in the first half put them up by 15 points, and they never surrendered the lead after that point. Lafayette did get the score back within seven points early in the second half, but that’s the closest they got as Monmouth pulled back away and cruised to victory.
This game was controlled by Rivera-Torres and sophomore guard Justin Ray, who had 20 and 21 points respectively. Spartalis and Ball both had 12 points. Ball also had 10 rebounds, giving him a double-double for the first time in his collegiate career.
Monmouth went 2-1 at the Lafayette Classic, tying for the best record of the four teams that participated. Le Moyne also went 2-1, while Lafayette and Ball State each went 1-2.
In terms of Monmouth’s overall record, they now sit at 4-4 on the season. Two of their four losses have come to power conference schools.
The Hawks have five more non-conference games before they begin conference play. On Wednesday, Dec. 3, the Hawks will take on the Princeton Tigers in the OceanFirst Bank Center. The two teams have faced off six times in the past decade, with each team winning three games apiece. Princeton has won the last two matchups by an average of 31 points. Although the Tigers have been one of the premiere programs in the Ivy League for the past few seasons, they are off to a slow start this year with a 3-7 record. They enter this game against the Hawks on a four game losing streak.
For the rest of their non-conference slate, the Hawks will take a trip to Atlanta on Saturday to take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, the third power conference team they’ll face this season.
Following that game, the Hawks will get a week off before playing three games in a one week span. They’ll go on the road to play Fairfield before returning home to host Quinnipiac and Lehigh. After those games, conference play will begin on Wednesday, Dec. 31 against Campbell.
