It was the night of the unsung heroes for Monmouth basketball as the Hawks defeated North Carolina A&T.
WEST LONG BRANCH -- Monmouth University's Corey Miller dribbled down the court, his team without timeouts after North Carolina A&T had knocked down two free throws to take the lead with 4.2 seconds left in overtime.
There were no pass options. Miller heaved a deep 3-pointer.
Miller time.
"I looked at the clock and there was like a second and a half left so I was like 'let's chuck it up and hope it goes in'" he said.
The shot went in off the glass and Monmouth had an 83-81 victory Thursday night, Jan. 29.
The walk-on junior guard has had some big moments this season but this one will stand out.
"We ran a play to get a quick out on the sideline to Jason (Rivera-Torres) and maybe get it up to Justin (Ray)," Miller said. "Jason wasn't open so my immediate reaction was try to get downhill to the basket."
Students rushed the court to congratulate Miller. After his post-game interview, the Monmouth team ran at him on the court and showered him with water bottles in celebration. The Hawks advance to an 11-11 overall record, 5-4 in CAA play.
Miller grew up in Ocean Township, a 7-minute drive from campus. He finished with 8 points and played a career-high 36 minutes. Rivera-Torres finished with a game-high 26 points and made key baskets down the stretch. Starting point guard Jack Collins wasn't available for the Hawks, so it was Miller's time to shine.
It was a game-time decision that Collins would sit out.
"Definitely not that much," Miller said on expecting to play. "He (Collins) was kind of a game time decision. But we knew if he didn't play me and Ant (Martinez) would have to step up. Kind of similar to the Lehigh game. Me and Ant have to run the team, just stay solid throughout the game and hopefully other guys like Jason, Justin, and Stef (Spartalis) today step up and they did so we got the win."
"This kid is a scholarship kid, he just doesn't have one here," Monmouth head coach King Rice said. "Sometimes you get labeled as the walk-on and people don't want to trust their own eyes, Corey could be on scholarship at any school in the CAA. And now he hits a game-winner and now people will believe me. Now people are going to see. He's guarding Trent Middleton (21 points), who's one of the better guards in this league and he had a good game tonight but Corey's out there making him work."
According to Rice, Collins was at the shootaround before the game.
"When I pulled up to the game he was pulling up too so I knew then maybe he's not playing," Rice said. "He went home because he didn't feel like he was going to be able to play so he went to get his sweatsuit and by the time he got back he thought he could play. He dressed, he was warming up and then he came in the locker room without about 16 minutes before the game said 'Coach, I can't do it.'"
5 takeaways
1. Stefanos Spartalis shines
Stefanos Spartalis scored a season-high 21 points for the Hawks. Though his overseas skillset was effective in the paint throughout regulation, he shined in overtime. In extra minutes, he made crucial free throws and defended on the block. He was scoring so well in the paint that at the end of the fourth quarter, he took the go-ahead shot in the post but it was no good.
"Our coaching staff Micah (Seaborn) and Max (Dileo) pointed out to me when our big man runs and is the first one down the floor, and we get one of the wings to the corner, when we do those two things on a possession, we score almost every time," Rice said. "Stef was running, we was looking for him, if we throw it in there we think Stef can score against anybody."
2. Foul trouble early
All season the Hawks have been trying to get better at defending without fouling. On Thursday night, Monmouth struggled to stay out of foul trouble. Cornelius Robinson picked up two early fouls and had to sit most of the first half. Spartalis picked up three fouls in the first half despite finding success inside the paint, he finished the first half with 11 points. Miller came off the bench early and picked up two fouls in the first half. Not that they were all bad fouls - the visiting Aggies' aggression driving towards the basket often drew contact.
3. Night of the unsung heroes
Alongside Miller, Anthony Martinez also stepped into a starring role - starting in place of Collins - and freshman Zubayr Griffin was able to get some minutes early in the game.
4. Rebounding struggles for Monmouth
Like many collegiate basketball games, size and physicality plays a large factor in most games. Without the 6-4 Collins at the point guard position, Monmouth gave up some size for most of the game. That lack of size and physicality resulted in the Aggies dominating the boards, especially in the second half. The Aggies ended up with 21 second-chance points in the game. They also out-rebounded the Hawks 39 to 28.
"You see those big ole boys? I mean It's just bodies," Rice said. "Dok weighs what - 205? 207? How much you think those brothers weigh in there? They have like five of em. I'm watching warmups and I'm like 'how'd they get all these big dudes?' And it doesn't have to be you're the most skilled guy. You're a big strong man in there, taking up space, no one wants to drive on you, you're going to take that hit when you drive and then when you're trying to box them out. If I don't get low enough they're going to move me and it's not a foul and they're going to get the rebound."
5. Decent crowd at OceanFirst Bank Center
Thursday night's game had an energetic crowd (attendance was 1,419). With winter final exams done and holiday break over, Rice said he anticipates students showing up more often for home games.
"If we could put a couple of them together this building will be full by the end," Rice said. "That's just how it happens. We've been win one, lose one, win one, lose one, that's hard to get people to keep coming. If we can win on Saturday (Hofstra at 2 p.m.), go on the road and win a couple then our next home game I bet you we'll have twice as many people."
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Monmouth men's basketball defeats NC A&T with overtime buzzer beater
Category: General Sports
