Men's College Basketball

Monmouth University 55, Rider University 54

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ— In politics, a 'hawk' is someone who favors war.

On Monday night the Monmouth Hawks gave the Rider Broncs a war that was not decided until the final gun.

Monmouth took its first lead of the game with 1:39 left to play and did not relinquish it, defeating Rider Monday night in the battle for first place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

“Give Monmouth credit,” said Rider head coach Kevin Baggett.  “They took it to us in the second half and they played really well. They executed better than we did.”

Monmouth (8-8, 5-1 MAAC) out-scored Rider 10-2, four points by Deon Jones, to take its first lead of the game, 53-52, with 1:39 left to play on a basket by Max DiLeo.  DiLeo scored again with 1:09 remaining for a 55-52 Monmouth lead. “We had some empty possessions down the stretch,” Baggett said, “with turnovers and bad shots.”

“We got the plays down the stretch,” said Monmouth head coach King Rice. 

Rider (10-7, 4-2 MAAC) cut it to 55-54 on two foul shots by junior Zedric Sadler (Detroit, Mich./Cody) with 3.9 seconds left, but that was as close as the Broncs could get.

For Monmouth, Justin Robinson compiled 16 points and four assists while Jones finished with 13 points. “To me Robinson was the difference in the game,” Baggett said.  “He refused to let Monmouth lose. Jones hit some big shots as well.”

Rider sophomore Jimmie Taylor (Branford, Fla./Suwannee) compiled 17 points and nine rebounds, while senior Matt Lopez (Erial, NJ/Washington Twp.) compiled his fourth 'double-double' in his last five games, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Taylor made a career-high five three-pointers.

Lopez played just 23 minutes due to foul trouble. “Matt's been good for us but he got in foul trouble tonight,” Baggett said. 

“Every big man has to learn how to deal with that,” Lopez said.

The loss snapped Rider's six-game winning streak. The last time Monmouth beat Rider was during the 2006-07 season (67-66), with Rider winning the last nine.

The game was part of the hOURglass Rivalry.

“It can't be a rivalry until the other team starts to win some,” Rice said. “We finally got a win against Rider.”

Monmouth out-scored Rider 10-6 to start the second half, all 10 points by Robinson, to cut the Bronc lead to 39-36 with 12:55 left to play. “I think we lost our composure a little bit in the second half,” Lopez said. “We were struggling to convert shots.”

Monmouth used a 13-6 run late in the first half to cut the lead to 30-26, and Rider led 33-26 at the half.

“Monmouth is good,” Baggett said. “They have talent and they defend.”

Rider took a 19-8 lead mid-way through the first half, nine points by Taylor.

Rider out-rebounded Monmouth 44-26.

Rider travels to Quinnipiac Thursday for an ESPN3 game. The last time Rider played on ESPN3, January 5, the Broncs won at Fairfield.

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