Monmouth basketball pulls away late to beat Princeton. 3 takeaways

WEST LONG BRANCH — Last time the Monmouth men’s basketball was on its home floor, it pulled out an exciting close win, and the Hawks did the same thing Wednesday, Dec. 3 over the Princeton Tigers.

Monmouth beat Princeton 63-58, showing poise when the game got tense. Princeton had the ball down three points with 30 seconds left; Monmouth forced a miss and Jason Torres-Rivera got the rebound and was fouled. He hit two free throws to close it out and finished with a team-high 20 points to go with 5 boards. It was Rivera-Torres’s third straight 20-point game.

Advertisement

“I come back at night with my little guy and Jason’s in here shooting,” Monmouth head coach King Rice said. “He’s just put in a tremendous amount of time in, he’s a junior. You got to remember Jason started at Vanderbilt as a freshman. He started games in the SEC two years ago, so just natural progression – he’s going to be a baller.”

Monmouth moved to 5-4. Princeton, playing without leading scorer Dalen Davis for the fifth straight game (sprained ankle), fell to 3-8.

PREGAME: Monmouth basketball catching Princeton at a good time after winning 2 of 3

Monmouth’s Jason Rivera-Torres celebrates a made basket vs Princeton (Dec. 3, 2025)

Monmouth finds success with pushed tempo

At the start of the game, it was mostly back and forth, until Monmouth began pushing the ball down the floor. The Hawks went on a 7-0 run and closed the first half with another 6-0 run spurt to regain the lead. Monmouth scored 21 points off the fast break.

Advertisement

Guys such as Andrew Ball, Cornelius Robinson III, and Rivera-Torres found success in the paint while Jack Collins continued to warm up to point guard duties.

“I would really like getting the ball to everyone else,” Collins said. “I’m trying my best and I think I’m doing an OK job, I’m just turning the ball over too much.”

Defensively, the Hawks were able to cause turnovers in the back court. The on-ball pressure forced the Tigers to cough up the ball 19 times and Monmouth scored 23…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/monmouth-basketball-pulls-away-beat-051030181.html

Author :

Publish date : 2025-12-04 05:10:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.