Hawks do it again in the Jam (Much longer story here than will appear in Tuesday Press!!) MU finishes ahead of Notre Dame in the tournament.

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) -Matt Causey scored 11 points, including a 3-pointer with 2 seconds remaining, and Georgia Tech beat Notre Dame 70-69 on Monday night.

This means UND went 1-2 in the Jam and finishes behind Monmouth. Amazing!






Also...kudos to the four people out of 52 on the Poll who picked MU to go 2-1 in the tournament...


By TONY GRAHAM
STAFF WRITER

Monmouth University guard Whitney Coleman made just two baskets in Monday's Paradise Jam
fourth-place game in the Virgin Islands.
But they were big ones. The 6-2 junior tied the score with a layup with 18 seconds left in
regulation, then swished a 3-point basket with 10 seconds left in overtime to send the Hawks
to their second consecutive upset victory in the event, 58-56 over the University of
Charlotte.
Coleman was just one-for-nine from the floor in the game and 0-for-5 from beyond the arc
before connecting from the top of the circle.

""I always have to stay confident,'' said Coleman. ""The coaches always say, "Keep shooting,
that was a good shot.' ''


Coleman said Monmouth used a five-guard alignment on both baskets. ""They put Alex (guard
Alex Nunner at center (on the game-tying layup,'' said Coleman. ""He set a perfect screen, I
was wide open and Jhamar (Youngblood) made a good pass.''

Coleman said Nunner made another good screen freeing him for the game-winner. ""I thought
it was going in and it went in,'' said Coleman. "'It was amazing.''


Coleman also sank a game winning jump shot in the final seconds last season to defeat
Rider.

""I was more excited about this one than the Rider game,'' said Coleman. ""The group of
guys we have, everybody works so hard. I had a feeling we were going to pull it out.'

The triumph marked just the second in 13 tries for Monmouth against a member of the
Atlantic-10 Conference and followed Saturday night's 59-50 upset of Wichita State of the
Missouri Valley Conference.

Such outcomes seemed remote after Monmouth lost to Notre Dame by 43 points in the
opening round Friday night.
""We're young and all we want to do is prove people wrong,'' said Coleman who along with
Nunner are the only two juniors on an otherwise all freshmen-sophomore team.
""If people didn't believe in us we believe in ourselves and that's all it takes,'' Coleman
said.


Monday Monmouth (2-3) rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit and in overtime took a
a 55-52 lead over the 49ers (3-2) on a 3 by Nunner.

It fell behind 56-55 after senior guard Lee Goldwire, the top free throw shooter in the
A-10 last season (90.5 percent), sank the first of two attempts with 32 seconds showing.

Monmouth coach Dave Calloway further explained Monmouth's five-guard offense when Coleman sank his layup as well
as the game-winning 3.

""We were looking for that layup which we got and then in overtime we did the same thing,''
Calloway said.


""They kind of jammed Whitney for the layup and Alex set the screen and he (Coleman)
popped for a 3. It was a good read and a great shot.''


Following Coleman's go-ahead basket Goldwire, whose 3-point basket in the waning seconds
Saturday gave Charlotte a win over Illinois-Chicago, launched a 3 just before time ran out.


""It was on line but it was really short,'' said Calloway. ""It was a long rebound and
the shot clock ran down as Alex ran down the rebound.


""Alex had two huge 3's in the game,'' said Calloway. ""And R.J. (Rutledge) had a huge one
earlier when we were struggling and hadn't made shots.

""When that happens you need someone to step up and make the first one.'

The 3 by Rutledge cut into a 44-35 deficit with 6:35 remaining in regulation and then
Nunner connected from deep to bring Monmouth within 46-41 with 5:43 showing.

Nunner also converted a conventional 3-point play that give Monmouth a 48-47 lead with
2:51 left.


Charlotte reclaimed the lead, 50-48, on a layup by An Juan Wilderness at the 1:25 mark.

Rookie center Nick DelTufo led Monmouth with 13 points and grabbed three
rebounds. Nunner had 12 points, Youngblood 10 and Coleman nine.

Goldwire topped Charlotte with 18 points.

The 49ers dominated in the paint, outrebounding the Hawks 40-32 and beating them 17-4 on
second-chance opportunities as 6-7 junior Lamont Mack added seven points and 11 rebounds.
But Charlotte was 12-for-21 from the free throw line, compared to 9-for-9 for Monmouth. The
Hawks were 21-for-29 from the stripe vs. Wichita State.

Monmouth's only other victory over an Atlantic-10 member was over St. Joseph's in the
consolation round of the 1994 Cowboy Shootout in Casper, Wyoming.


Referee Tom Lopes, a long-time NCAA official who has worked the Final Four and started his
officiating career in the Shore Conference, refereed the final game of his career in the
contest.

A former schools' superintendent in Keansburg, Lopes started his collegiate career in the
Northeast Conference and has worked the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big 12.


Monmouth improved to 4-2 on its two trips to the Paradise Jam. In 2003 the Hawks defeated
Appalachian State and Hampton.[PARA]


Calloway said Monmouth sophomore forward Rickie Crews, who did not play in the last two games, remains suspended indefinitely for a ""poor attitude'' as well as disrespect of a fellow
member of the program.