Sports

There is now an official rivalry in men’s MAAC basketball between the Monmouth Hawks and the Iona Gaels.

As storm Jonas was making headlines this weekend, the competitors of Monmouth University’s men’s and women’s track and field teams also made titles for themselves at the NYC Gotham Cup at Ocean Breeze on Staten Island on Saturday, Jan. 23, and the Tiger Open at Princeton University on Sunday, Jan. 24.

The Iona women’s basketball team defeated the Hawks 64-49 Sunday night at the Multipurpose Activity Center.

In 2014, the Baltimore Orioles won the American League East with a 96-66 record and advanced to the American League Championship Series. One of the key members of their bullpen was Brad Brach, who pitched for the Hawks from 2005-2008.

The Monmouth men’s basketball team defeated the Niagara Purple Eagles 56-42 Sunday afternoon at the Gallagher Center at Niagara University. Redshirt freshman guard Micah Seaborn led the Hawks with 13 points, and senior guard Deon Jones had a solid offensive day with 11 points and six rebounds. Monmouth also received contributions from junior guard Justin Robinson, who had eight points and four rebounds, and freshman forward Diago Quinn, who had six points and three rebounds in his first career start.

Junior guard Justin Robinson has been proving people wrong his entire life. Just look at when the Hawks star player, listed at 5’8”, reflected back after the team’s victory over The University of Southern California in the third place game of the AdvoCare Invitational.

The college basketball season may be young, however Monmouth University has a lot to celebrate. With recent wins over the No. 17 Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the University of Southern California Trojans at the Advocare Invitational basketball tournament over Thanksgiving, the team has gained the nation’s attention. However, the team’s most noise has been coming from their own bench rather than their fan base.

After losing a close game in overtime to Lehigh University a week earlier, the upstart Monmouth women’s basketball fell to Robert Morris University 60-47 in the 2015 home opener. The Hawks got off to a slow start, scoring only two points in the first 4:40 of the game, shooting 1-6 (17 percent) from the field. Senior guard Jasmine Walker hit for three sparking the Hawks offense, who went on a 5-0 scoring run to cut the Colonials’ lead to 1. Robert Morris countered with a 6-0 scoring run of their own to close out the quarter, making it 18-11 after the first.

The women’s basketball team fell to Providence this past Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall to a tune of 71-59. Junior guard Tyese Purvis and sophomore forward Dana Carbone netted a collective 24 points for MU. Senior guard Jasmine Walker earned 10 points and 10 rebounds on the night while seniors Jamiyah Bethune and Sarah Olson each tabbed eight. The loss puts the Blue and White at 1-3 so far this season.