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| Photo: Bleacher Report |
Peter Solari Follow @4PeteSakeNY
Albany, NY - The Monmouth Hawks (27-6) are just one away from the big dance after knocking off Fairfield (19-13) 76-63 in the first MAAC semifinal on Sunday at the Times Union Center in Albany. Monmouth will face the winner of the matchup between second seeded Iona (20-10) and third seeded Siena (21-11), which will take place Sunday night.
Fairfield led for most of the first half in Sunday's game, but never took control of the game. A Jerome Segura three pointer gave the Stags an eight point advantage with 6:13 left in the half, led by nine seconds later, but the Hawks took over after that.
A three-pointer by junior guard Josh James with 5:33 left to play got Monmouth to within six points at 30-24. From there, junior guard Justin Robinson and sophomore guard Austin Tilghman led the Hawks on an 18-6 run to close out the half and Monmouth took a 42-36 lead into halftime. Robinson contributed five points, one rebound, and a steal in the final 5:10, while Tilghman added four points and freshman forward Diago Quinn had two points, one steal, and one rebound, in that span. Freshman guard Micah Seaborn also hit a clutch three in the run.
The six-point differential at halftime was as close as Fairfield would get as Monmouth dominated the second half, and led by as much as 23 points for a portion of it. The teams were actually fairly even on paper, but the Hawks shot 44% for the game, including 37% from beyond the arc, and it was just too much for the Stags to overcome. Seaborn led the way for Monmouth with 17 points, 3 assists, and 1 steal. Robinson added 15 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals, and Tilghman finished with 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Iona and Siena will meet at 7 PM on Sunday night in Albany in the second semifinal, which can be seen on ESPN3. Monmouth will meet the winner of that game in the MAAC championship on Monday night at 7 PM. That game will be broadcast nationally by ESPN.
Monday night's MAAC championship could be a huge for the Hawks. It appears as if Monmouth could fall just short of the big dance should they lose Monday's MAAC final. But there's certainly no reason to panic, yet. Monmouth has complete control of their own destiny, and a win Monday will make for an easy upcoming week for all those faithful to the Hawks.
Monmouth is a hot topic of conversation these days in sports media. Bleacher Report has them featured in two stories right now. Featured columnist Jake Curtis placed the hawks at #6 on his list of "Best (15) Teams That Could Miss March Madness If They Don't Win Conference Tournament," while featured columnist Brian Pedersen included them on his list of "10 Teams built to Bust Brackets in the 2016 NCAA Tournament."
Monmouth can end all speculation about the NCAA Tournament, other than seeding and opponent, with a win on Monday night. If not, they're in for a long week ahead.
