ALBANY — Monmouth’s at-large credentials may not even matter.
The mid-major darling is one win from ending the debate over its merits as an NCAA Tournament team and ensuring its first appearance in the Big Dance in a decade, following Sunday’s 76-63 semifinal win over Fairfield at the Times Union Center.
Prior to learning top-seeded Monmouth (27-6) would face No. 2 Iona in Monday’s MAAC title game, Hawks coach King Rice was confident his team would complete its sweep of both conference titles in just its third year in the league.
“We think it’s our time and, we’re gonna fight hard for it,” Rice said. “We feel very fortunate to be here. To be playing for a chance to be going to the NCAA Tournament is amazing. … You don’t get to go to this thing a lot. These guys have never been. … It’s the coolest thing for your school, your team, your league. … We’ll see how it goes, [but] we want it badly.”
Led by MAAC Player of the Year Justin Robinson’s 15 points and nine rebounds, the Hawks fell into an early nine-point hole but completely dominated the fifth-seeded Stags (19-13) in the second half, giving Monmouth’s bench mob myriad opportunities to celebrate in style.
MAAC Rookie of the Year Micah Seaborn scored a game-high 17 points, while senior Deon Jones — returning after missing five games with a broken hand — added nine points and seven rebounds.
The Hawks, unconcerned with whether they’ve done enough already to deserve a spot in the big bracket, were focused on the biggest game of their lives.
“It’s gonna be hard for me to sleep, I know that for sure,” Seaborn said. “I’m gonna try to control my emotions as much as possible. I know it’s a big game, but I’m gonna try to approach it just like we did every other game.”
The approach to the semifinal may have been normal, but the execution didn’t reflect the regular-season champions, who missed 10 of their first 13 shots. The Stags also started slow but made up for it by making six of their first 11 3-pointers, taking a 30-21 lead behind the inside-out game of Matija Milin (16 points).
Robinson — who shot 1-of-12 in the quarterfinals — rebounded after missing his first four shots and hit six of his final seven shots, sparking a 20-3 game-swinging run, which gave Monmouth a 42-36 halftime lead.
The Hawks led by as many as 23 in the second half to get within 40 minutes of their dream, one year after Rice told reporters, “We’re coming,” following a semifinal loss to Iona.
“The crazy part is last year I was sitting up here and everybody thought I was too cocky. Now we’re here and get a chance,” Rice said. “We don’t have to prove anything to anybody. We’re playing for each other. We’re not worrying about anything else anybody is doing.”