Junior forward Jason Rivera-Torres scored 25 points as Monmouth Men’s Basketball defeated Stony Brook on Thursday, Feb. 5.
Despite only winning by one point, the Hawks never trailed at any point in the game. Stony Brook had a late second-half surge that fell just short.
Through the first four minutes of the game, the teams only combined for four points. After that point, Monmouth went on a 23-8 run to open up a 15-point lead. The Seawolves were able to cut that lead back down to seven points, but Monmouth re-expanded the lead late in the first half to take a 46-31 lead into halftime.
The Hawks started the second half cold, as they only scored two points in the first five minutes of the half and let Stony Brook cut the lead back down to seven points. Monmouth expanded the lead back to 15 points over the next four minutes, but once again they couldn’t put the dagger in the Seawolves as Stony Brook stormed back to cut the lead to three points with a little under seven minutes remaining.
Through the final seven minutes, Monmouth never led by more than six points. The teams exchanged baskets, but Stony Brook could not get the run they needed in order to take the lead. A turnover with six seconds left while down by two points ended Stony Brook’s chances of completing the comeback. Rivera-Torres sank two free throws to expand the lead to four and the late three point-basket by Stony Brook was not enough, as Monmouth escaped Long Island with a 76-75 victory.
Rivera-Torres’s 25 points was his second performance with 25 points or higher in his last three games. He scored 26 points in Monmouth’s overtime win over North Carolina A&T on Feb. 10. Senior forward Kavion McClain made his debut for the Hawks after an NCAA investigation, and he scored 14 points while making three three-point baskets. The only other player for the Hawks to score in double digits was junior forward Cornelius Robinson III, who scored ten points.
With the win, Monmouth now sits at 6-5 in CAA play and is tied in the loss column with three other teams for third place in the CAA standings. If the Hawks get a top four finish in the CAA Standings, they will earn a double-bye for the CAA Tournament in March. Their next game is a big one, as they travel to Philadelphia to take on the Drexel Dragons on Thursday, Feb. 12. Drexel is one of the three teams that Monmouth is tied with in the loss column.
