Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Monmouth wins opening game in tournament
By The Associated Press
Wednesday, March 15, 2006 | No comments posted.
DAYTON, Ohio - Monmouth can stop cringing whenever March is mentioned.
A school that knew nothing but NCAA blowouts got the tournament rolling Tuesday by being on the other side of one for a change. A 71-49 victory over Hampton in the play-in game gave the Northeast Conference champions their first NCAA victory in four tries.
Monmouth (19-14) won the Northeast tournament on Chris Kenny's layup with 2.1 seconds left against Fairleigh Dickinson. Kenny kept it going by making six 3-pointers against Hampton - an opening-round record.
“It's been amazing,” Kenny said. “I get a lot more phone calls and a lot more looks from girls. My 15 minutes of fame have been great. Hopefully I can extend it to 20 minutes.”
If the Hawks win their next game, they'll earn a special place in tournament history. They play No. 1 seed Villanova on Friday in the Wildcats' backyard of Philadelphia, looking for that elusive 16-over-1 upset.
“We've held our last three opponents under 50 points,” coach Dave Calloway said. “If we hold the next team under 50, I'm going to be doing a lot of defensive clinics.”
Hampton (16-16) never figured out how to crack Monmouth's matchup zone. The Pirates couldn't even get around 7-foot-2 center John Bunch, who entertained the crowd of 7,764 with his blocks and his bulk.
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament champions had trouble getting off shots during Bunch's 21 minutes on the court. The 320-pound center occupied the lane just by standing there.
“Big John did a tremendous job of anchoring down in the paint,” Hampton coach Bobby Collins said. “He definitely changed the course of the game.”
He also won over the crowd, which initially waited to choose a rooting interest. He blocked four shots in the first half, when Monmouth took control, and finished with seven points, five blocks and six rebounds.
Every time he touched the ball, a murmur went through the crowd. His dunk as part of a three-point play in the second half drew the loudest cheer, put Monmouth up by 23 and ended Hampton's chances of a comeback.
“He's a big kid,” said Hampton's Jeff Granger, who had 10 points. “Everywhere you went, he was there. He did exactly what a big man is supposed to do.”
A school that knew nothing but NCAA blowouts got the tournament rolling Tuesday by being on the other side of one for a change. A 71-49 victory over Hampton in the play-in game gave the Northeast Conference champions their first NCAA victory in four tries.
Monmouth (19-14) won the Northeast tournament on Chris Kenny's layup with 2.1 seconds left against Fairleigh Dickinson. Kenny kept it going by making six 3-pointers against Hampton - an opening-round record.
“It's been amazing,” Kenny said. “I get a lot more phone calls and a lot more looks from girls. My 15 minutes of fame have been great. Hopefully I can extend it to 20 minutes.”
If the Hawks win their next game, they'll earn a special place in tournament history. They play No. 1 seed Villanova on Friday in the Wildcats' backyard of Philadelphia, looking for that elusive 16-over-1 upset.
“We've held our last three opponents under 50 points,” coach Dave Calloway said. “If we hold the next team under 50, I'm going to be doing a lot of defensive clinics.”
Hampton (16-16) never figured out how to crack Monmouth's matchup zone. The Pirates couldn't even get around 7-foot-2 center John Bunch, who entertained the crowd of 7,764 with his blocks and his bulk.
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament champions had trouble getting off shots during Bunch's 21 minutes on the court. The 320-pound center occupied the lane just by standing there.
“Big John did a tremendous job of anchoring down in the paint,” Hampton coach Bobby Collins said. “He definitely changed the course of the game.”
He also won over the crowd, which initially waited to choose a rooting interest. He blocked four shots in the first half, when Monmouth took control, and finished with seven points, five blocks and six rebounds.
Every time he touched the ball, a murmur went through the crowd. His dunk as part of a three-point play in the second half drew the loudest cheer, put Monmouth up by 23 and ended Hampton's chances of a comeback.
“He's a big kid,” said Hampton's Jeff Granger, who had 10 points. “Everywhere you went, he was there. He did exactly what a big man is supposed to do.”
The comments below are from users of theworldlink.com and do not necessarily represent the views of The World or Lee Enterprises. Participation Guidelines
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Not already registered?
The World welcomes your comments about stories, and we encourage a robust dialogue on this site. All comments must meet reasonable standards of decency and civility.
Please follow these basic rules:
- No defamatory comments about individuals or businesses.
- No deliberately false information.
- No obscenity or racially offensive language.
- No harassment, verbal abuse, threats or personal attacks.
- No information that invades another person's privacy.
- No business solicitations or charitable solicitations.
Comments that violate these standards will not be posted. Users with repeated violations may be banned from future posting.Comments will be approved throughout the day during business hours. After hours and weekend comments may not appear until the following business day. It may take a couple of hours before comments are approved.
The World generally does not edit comments, but we reserve the right to edit any comment that does not meet our standards.
Close Guidelines