M Basketball 01.30.19
Sports

Men’s Basketball Falls Twice in Buffalo Road Trip

Men’s Basketball lost twice in their Western New York trip, first to Canisius 80-66 on Thursday night then to Niagara 75-48 on Saturday afternoon.

On Saturday, the Hawks went into the halftime with the 23-22 lead, but were outscored 53-25 in the second half.

“It was not our day… in the first half, we guarded but certain guys we got right now want to do their own thing,” said Head Coach King Rice.

A defensive first half saw Niagara lead by as many as eight after they hit a three midway through the first, making it 19-11 Purple Eagles.

The Hawks answered with the next eight points, with four different players contributing. Niagara took the lead back with a corner triple, but MU netted the final four points of the half, taking the lead when sophomore guard Deion Hammond’s jumper went down at 1:27 to send Monmouth to the break up one. The Hawks held Niagara off the board for the final 5:20 of the first half.

After a back-and-forth first few minutes of the second half, sophomore forward Melik Martin hit a three to give the Hawks a one point lead. Shortly after, Niagara went on a 14-1 run to take a 12 point lead.  The Purple Eagles went up 20 with 2:31 to go on Barton’s corner triple, and went on to win 75-48.

For the game, Hammond finished with 12 points. Senior forward Diago Quinn finished with eight points and seven rebounds.

On Thursday, the Hawks lost to Canisius 80-66, ending a four-game winning streak for Monmouth.

“It was a good game until halftime, and then we just didn’t come out of the locker room,” Rice said. “That happens sometimes, it was a very physical game and there were lots of fouls called to start the second half which kind of set the tempo and those guys came out on fire and we didn’t, that’s the game.”

Sophomore guard Ray Salnave’s three-point play at five minutes of the opening half gave Monmouth a 13-12 lead.

The Hawks led into the final stages of the period before Canisius’ jumper went down to tie things with 35 seconds left, making the halftime score tied at 32 all.

Canisius opened the second half on an 18-7 run that included two threes to open up an 11-point lead.

Monmouth got it within single digits but the home team was able to gradually build on their lead throughout the period, eventually winning by a 14-point margin.

For Monmouth, Hammond and Salnave led the team with 14 points each. Junior guard Louie Pillari also was in double-digits with ten points in only ten minutes.

After the two losses, Monmouth (6-16, 5-4 MAAC) looks to rebound as they return home with two home games, first against Siena on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m., then against Rider on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.

PHOTO TAKEN by Karlee Sell