Siena has no answer for Monmouth's Robinson

PHOTOGRAPHER: Mark McGuire

Siena's Javion Ogunyemi, left, battling for a rebound in the second half Monday against Monmouth at Times Union Center, led the Saints with 31 points

Siena’s nine-game home winning streak this season was snapped by a team that appeared to have a lot to prove. And Monmouth did just that.

Sparked by 5-foot-8 dynamo Justin Robinson, who poured in a career-best 36 points, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference leader Monmouth showed it could win at the Times Union Center, the host site for the upcoming MAAC tournament, with a 93-87 victory over the second-place Saints in a major conference showdown Monday night before a crowd of 7,016.

Monmouth, which has received votes in both the AP Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches polls four times this season, entered the night with big non-conference victories over such traditional powers a UCLA, Notre Dame and Georgetown.

And with the Robinson leading the way, the Hawks showed they had no fear of the Saints, despite their traditional homecourt edge at the TU Center.

“They have a MAAC backcourt,” Siena head coach Jimmy Patsos said. “The teams that were great at Siena had great backcourts. Their backcourt beat our backcourt very badly. We just couldn’t get a few stops.”

Although they trailed throughout, Siena pulled within 64-62 on a transition basket by 6-8 junior center Javion Ogunyemi, who had a monster game himself with a career-high 31 points. But the Hawks pulled away once more.

Siena was able to muster enough offense to stay within striking distance of the Hawks, but the Saints couldn’t slow down Monmouth’s high-powered offense, which placed five players in double-digit scoring.

“I’m proud of our team to not give it away like that,” Patsos said. “The interesting thing about 18-20 year-olds is that the more information that’s out there, the more knowledge you expect them to have. I told our players to focus on Justin Robinson, because he’s a great player. Justin Robinson is the only guy I told them to really focus on. But Justin Robinson had 36 points. They just really outplayed our backcourt tonight.”

Despite battling foul trouble, junior forward Brett Bisping, fresh off his 27-point, 18-rebound performance Saturday night against Marist, added 20 points and 14 rebounds in 27 minutes. Freshman Nico Clareth contributed 15 points.

But Robinson, who was equally adept at slashing through the lane or popping from three-point territory, showed he was the real deal.

“It’s a good feeling tonight, but if we lost this game, I wouldn’t have been feeling good at all,” said Robinson, who is averaging 20 points per game. “I didn’t know how many points I had until one of my teammates told me I had 23 at the half. So I just kept on shooting.”

Monmouth head coach King Rice, whose Hawks improved to 10-2 in the MAAC and 18-5 overall, said his team proved several things with the win.

“I understand that Siena’s team is not whole right now without Marquis Wright. Their kids were fired up to play us, and our kids were fired up to play them. They pushed us inside, but then our guards did what they do. Plus, we had five guys in double figures.

“When Siena’s team gets going, this building gets full. But show me someone who can guard him [Robinson]. He keeps proving people wrong. And our whole team keeps getting better.”

“I guess I just wasn’t clear enough to our players as to how good Justin Robinson really is,” Patsos said.

MONMOUTH (93)

Brady 1-4 3-4 5, James 0-5 0-0 0, Jones 3-9 3-4 10, Seaborn 5-10 0-0 10, Robinson 10-19 12-12 36, Hornbeak 3-5 1-2 10, Tilghman 4-5 4-5 12, Stewart 1-8 0-0 2, Quinn 1-2 2-2 4, Tillman 0-1 2-2 2. Totals: 28-68 27-31 93.

SIENA (87)

Long 3-4 3-4 9, Bisping 5-10 9-10 20, Ogunyemi 10-13 9-11 31, Oliver 0-9 2-2 2, Wormley 1-3 3-34 5, Gottfried 0-0 0-0 0, Clareth 5-14 3-5 15, LaRose 1-2 0-0 3, Fisher 0-1 0-0 0, Silas 0-0 0-0 0, Cunningham 0-0 2-2 2. Totals: 25-56 31-38 87.

Halftime: Monmouth 49-40 3-point goals: Monmouth 10-23 (Brady 0-1, James 0-2, Jones 1-1, Seaborn 2-4, Robinson 4-7, Hornbeak 3-3, Stewart 0-5); Siena 6-18 (Bisping 1-3, Ogunyemi 2-2, Oliver 0-3, Clareth 2-8, LaRose 1-2). Rebounds: Monmouth 35 (Hornbeak 6); Siena 40 (Bisping 14). Assists: Monmouth 11 (Seaborn 3, Robinson 3); Siena 13 (Long 4). Personal fouls: Monmoth 23, Siena 19. Officials: Ted Valentine, Louie Andrakakos, Kevin O’Conell. Attendance: 7,016.