Monmouth captures share of first-ever regular season title
Hawks run Boylan Gym record to 12-0.
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Monmouth University’s men’s basketball
captured a share of its first-ever Northeast Conference regular season
title as the Hawks posted an 87-82 win over St. Francis (N.Y.) College
in front of a sellout crowd of 2,500 at Boylan Gym on Friday evening.
The Hawks are also guaranteed a No. 1 seed at the NEC Tournament which
begins Saturday, March 6 at the Spiro Sports Center in Staten Island,
N.Y.
The win moved Monmouth’s record to 18-10 overall and 12-5 in league
action. It also kept the Hawks record a perfect 12-0 at Boylan Gym on
the season, the first time since the Hawks moved to Division I in
1983-84 that they have had an unblemished home mark. The win also gave
Monmouth 72 wins over the last four years, the highest win total in a
four-year span for the Blue and White since moving to Division I. The
loss dropped St. Francis’ record to 14-12 overall and 11-6 in league
action. The Terriers can still claim a share of the NEC regular season
title with a win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Monday and a loss by
Monmouth at Mount St. Mary’s.
The Hawks were powered by Blake Hamilton who logged a double-double
with 24 points and 13 rebounds for the game. Hamilton set a Monmouth
record as he hit 18 free throws in the game. The Harrisburg, Pa.,
native who went 18-of-21 from the charity stripe, bested the record of
17 set by Alex Blackwell on January 14, 1991. Hamilton’s 21 attempts
were also a school record.
Monmouth fell behind early with St. Francis taking a 24-19 lead 10
minutes into the contest as Sean Dantzler hit two consecutive 3-point
field goals. Monmouth responded with an 11-0 run keyed by a Marques
Alston dunk. Byfield hit a 3-point field goal and Tom Kaplan wrapped a
layup and 3-point field goal around a Blake Hamilton free throw and
Monmouth took a 30-24 lead with 7:02 left in the half. The Hawks would
later take their biggest lead of the opening stanza at eight points at
42-34. St. Francis closed out the half on a 6-2 run with four free
throws by John Quintana and a pair of free throws by Tory Cavalieri to
trim the lead to 44-40 at the intermission.
The Hawks scored the first five points of the second half with a
trifecta by Byfield and pair of free throws by Hamilton to take a
49-40 lead just 40 seconds into the second half. Monmouth later pushed
the lead to 56-45 on a Brian Boxler jumper, but the Terriers responded
with a 8-0 run to cut the lead to three points. Mike Wilson scored on
an old-fashioned 3-point play to start the run. Devon Neckles added a
pair of free throws and Quintana sank a 3-pointer to make the score
56-53 with 14:04 left in the half.
Monmouth righted the ship with an 8-1 run sparked by four consecutive
free throws by Hamilton and the Blue and White had a 64-54 lead at the
10:50 mark. The Terriers were twice able to trim the lead to four
points at 66-62 with 7:54 remaining and 74-70 with 3:16 on the clock.
Monmouth appeared to put the game away as Tom Kaplan hit 1-of-2 free
throws, Hamilton sunk a pair at the charity stripe and Tyler Azzarelli
hit a long jumper to give Monmouth a 79-70 lead with 1:44 left, but
the Terriers were relentless. Cavalieri wrapped four made free throws
around a lone foul shot success by Chris Kenny to close the lead to
80-74 with just under a minute remaining. Cavalieri then picked Tom
Kaplan clean and made a fastbreak layup to cut the lead to four points
with 38 seconds remaining. Chris Kenny made a pair of free throws at
the 35 second mark, but Dantzler rained his fifth trey of the night to
deflate the cushion to 82-79 with 31 seconds remaining in the contest.
Kenny made two more free throws with 28 seconds remaining to increase
the advantage to five points and Blake Hamilton hit 1-of-2 free throws
with 20 seconds remaining to give the Hawks an 85-79 lead. Wilson made
the ending interesting as he hit a 3-point field goal with 13 seconds
left to trim the lead to three, but Kaplan sank a pair from the
charity stripe with four seconds left for an insurmountable 87-82
margin.
In addition to Hamilton’s 24-point, 13-rebound effort, Byfield scored
19 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 from 3-point
range. He also logged five steals on the evening. Kenny scored 13
points, including 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the final minute.
Kaplan scored 12 points and added four rebounds and three assists in
his final regular-season Boylan Gym appearance.
Quintana led St. Francis with 21 points and added five rebounds.
Dantzler was 5-of-7 from the field, all from 3-point range as he
logged 15 points. Cavalierie logged 13 points and added nine assists,
seven rebounds, four steals. Wilson went 4-of-8 from the field and
posted 11 points. Neckles logged seven points, nine rebounds and four
blocked shots.
The Hawks won the game at the foul line, where the Blue and White hit
33-of-42 attempts while the Terriers made just 23-of-31. Monmouth’s
defense was also able to induce 18 turnovers, while the Hawks
committed just 12.
Monmouth ends the regular season on Monday as the Hawks travel to
Emmitsburg, Md, for a 7 p.m. contest at Mount St. Mary’s.
Hawks wins Northeast Conference tournament
Hawks to go dancing for the third time
West Long Branch, NJ -- Monmouth University won its third Northeast
Conference title as the Hawks defense held Central Connecticut State
to just 32.3 percent (20-of-62) shooting from the field and Tyler
Azzarelli (Tampa,FL/H.B. Plant) had a career best 19 points as in
leading Monmouth to a 67-55 victory in the Northeast Conference
Tournament championship game at Boylan Gym.
For Monmouth (21-11), it earned the Hawks their third-ever NCAA
Tournament berth. The Blue and White ran their home court record to
13-0 on the season, the first time the Hawks have gone unscathed
during their tenure on the Division I level beginning in 1983-84.
“We have the best fans in the Northeast Conference,” head coach Dave
Calloway said. “And that’s why we are undefeated at home.”
Monmouth opened the game, one by senior Jason Krayl (Point Pleasant
Beach, NJ/Christian Brothers) and a back-door basket by junior Dwayne
Byfield (Elmont, NY/St. Mary’s), to take a 4-0 advantage. After a Rich
Pittman (Boston, MA/Thayer Academy) offensive rebound and putback that
cut the lead to 4-2, the Hawks built a 10-2 cushion at 14:57, forcing
four CCSU turnovers, while the Blue Devils went 1-for-7 from the
floor.
Pittman broke the scoring draught at 14:24, after head coach Howie
Dickenman called a timeout with a jumper in the lane, before Monmouth
junior Blake Hamilton (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin) put the Blue
and White back ahead 12-4 going into the first television break.
An Azzarelli 3-pointer at 11:17 squelched a mini-CCSU run that cut the
lead to 12-8 at 11:33 after DeMario Anderson (Fort Washington, MD/Oxon
Hill) skied for and offensive tip-in and 2004 NEC Player of the Year
Ron Robinson (Bronx, NY/Winchendon) drained a jumpshot from the wing.
At 7:21, Monmouth’s first-team All-NEC performer Blake Hamilton picked
up his second personal foul, before CCSU cut the Hawks’ cushion to
19-17 at 6:20 after consecutive Robinson baskets, which included a
break-away slam dunk.
The Hawks went cold from the field, going scoreless since the 9:37
mark, as Central climbed back into the game, tying the score at 19-19
with 3:28 showing, as Javier Mojica (Auburn, MA/Auburn) dropped in a
layup. Byfield helped MU recapture a two-point edge with 3;03 left
with his jumper in the lane, before Azzarelli’s three-point play
bolstered the Monmouth lead to 24-19 going into the final official
timeout of the
stanza.
Krayl’s driving layup at 1:24 pushed the Monmouth lead to seven,
26-19, while the Blue Devils managed one point, an Anderson free throw
with 0:00.7 showing after his offensive rebound to end the half,
making the tally 26-20 as the teams went to the lockerroom.
Azzarelli led all scorers going into intermission, as the sophomore
guard connected on a perfect 5-of-5 from the field for 12 points. Each
Hamilton and Krayl went 2-for-3 from the floor for four points, while
the Hawks outshot the Blue Devils, hitting on 46.2% (12-26) to CCSU’s
29.0% (9-31).
“I struggled scoring this year,” Azzarelli, who came into the game
averaging 3.4 points per game, “But our offense is designed to get the
layups and I got them today. Blake (Hamilton) and the rest of the guys
were really screening well and I just tried to run off them.”
The Blue Devils countered the Monmouth torrid shooting by
outrebounding the Blue and White 21-15, which included nine offensive
boards.
Robinson, who hit on 5-of-10 field goals, led CCSU with 10 points and
five rebounds. In the first half, he established a new NEC career
rebounding record, surpassing Long Island's Carey Scurry, who amassed
1,013 boards from 1982-85. Robinson ended his career with 1,022
rebounds and 1,309 points. Pittman contributed four points and four
rebounds for the Blue Devils.
Coming out of the break, a Boxler jumper and a Krayl trifecta, gave
Monmouth a 31-20 cushion at 17:41, before the teams traded baskets
over the next two minutes. Boxler’s half-hook at 12:34 and sophomore
Chris Kenny’s (Spring Lake, NJ/Christian Brothers) 3-pointer at 11:48
gave Monmouth its largest lead of the contest, 42-29, as the Hawks’
defense held CCSU scoreless for 5:40, before a pair of Pittman foul
shots ended the draught.
The Blue and White increased their lead to 44-31, with 10:23 showing
as Kenny connected on his second consecutive basket, while the Hawks’
defense forced five CCSU turnovers in the stretch.
Robinson ended the Blue Devils’ field goal draught at the 8:02 mark,
which spanned almost nine minutes, with a baseline drive and dunk that
sliced the lead to 44-33 going into a timeout.
Hamilton, who succumbed to Central’s defense for much of the game,
answered Robinson’s jam, with a one-handed slam of his own with 6:33
remaining, which pushed the Hawks’ advantage back to 13 points, 46-33.
Central continued its poor shooting from the floor in the second
stanza, as the Blue Devils connected on 4-of-18 field goal attempts in
the first 15 minutes of the second half.
With five minutes left, senior Russ Anderson (Chester, NY/Don Bosco
Prep) found Azzarelli on a back cut in the lane, which lead to a layup,
pushing Monmouth’s cushion to 48-33. On the next possession, Monmouth
forced a Central turnover, which Azzarelli corralled, diving on the
floor and calling timeout before a tie-up was whistled, maintaining
possession for the Hawks.
With the lead Monmouth leading 50-35 with 2:30 left in the game,
Central got back in the contest with a 3-pointer by Anderson, two
trifectas each from Mojica and Chiera to cut the lead to 62-55 with 39
seconds remaining, but Azzarelli, Hamilton and Anderson hit 5-of-6
free throws down the stretch.
Azzarelli led Monmouth with 19 points and added four steals.
“I’m not surprised he (Azzarelli) made baskets,” Robinson said. “He is
a Division I player.”
Hamilton, the Northeast Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player
chipped in with 10 points despite being shut down most of the first
half.
“We took the season as a team,” Hamilton said. “I don’t have to be the
man. We have plenty of men on this team and tonight Tyler (Azzarelli)
was the man.”
Pittman led Central with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Robinson, the
Northeast Conference Regular Season Most Valuable Player added 12
points and 11 rebounds. Mojica notched 11 points.
“You win with class and you lose with class,” Central Connecticut
State head coach Howie Dickenman said. “Monmouth has a lot of good
people on their team, as do we. We ran our plays. They defended them.
They were well prepared.”
2004 NEC All-Tournament Team
Tamien Trent (FDU) - 19.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.0 apg
Ron Robinson (CCSU) - 15.3 ppg, 11.3 rpg
Dwayne Byfield (MU) - 11.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg
Tyler Azzarelli (MU) - 9.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, Game-high 19 points in title
game
Blake Hamilton (MU) - 14.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg
Most Valuable Player
Blake Hamilton (MU) - 14.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg
