Monmouth Men's Basketball Upsets No. 17 Notre Dame

Justin Robinson may not be the tallest player on the basketball court, but the Monmouth University junior was simply huge for the Hawks on Thanksgiving night.

Robinson scored 22 points, including a pair of free throws with 3.6 seconds to go, as the Hawks (3-1) upset 17th-ranked Notre Dame 70-68 in the AdvoCare Invitational at Walt Disney World.

Robinson, a 5-foot-8 guard, was 14 of 15 from the free throw line, and had Monmouth’s last eight points of the game, to hold off a rally by the Fighting Irish (3-1).

Monmouth trailed by 8 points, 37-29, at halftime, but Robinson took over, scoring 19 points and getting all four of his assists in the second half. Micah Seaborn had 15 points and Je’lon Hornbeak 12 for Monmouth.

“We weren’t guarding in the first half,” Monmouth head coach King Rice said in a postgame interview on ESPN. But they focused and started playing defense, he said.

The Hawks, fueled by Robinson, led by 11 points, 62-51, after a Seaborn layup with 7:33 to go. But the Irish chipped away at the lead, pulling to within 3 points on a Demetrius Jackson 3-pointer with 4:51 to go.

Notre Dame tied the game on a layup and made free throw by Jackson with 32 seconds left, but Monmouth got the ball and with 3.6 seconds left Jackson was called for a foul on Robinson, who hit both foul shots. A 3-point attempt by Jackson from just inside midcourt hit off the top of the backboard at the buzzer.

It is the second big win of the very young season for the Hawks. who opened the season last week with an 84-81 victory over UCLA at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.

“These kids really believe in me and I believe in them,” Rice said. He also thanked the university administration for its patience.

“When my record wasn’t good, they waited,” he said. “Dr. Marilyn McNeil (the Monmouth University athletic director) gave me time to build it right.”

Monmouth next plays in the tournament’s semifinals Friday night against the winner of the Iowa-Dayton game.