Monmouth pulls away late, beats Siena 66-55

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. -- Deion Hammond hit four 3-pointers and scored 16 points and Monmouth shot 55 percent in the second half to pull away for a 66-55 victory over Siena on Thursday night.

Diago Quinn didn't miss a shot and scored 10, while Louie Pillari came off the bench to finish with 10 points -- all in the second half -- and five rebounds for the Hawks (7-16, 6-4 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference).

Quinn had eight points in the first half to help Monmouth take a 28-27 lead into intermission. The Saints (9-12, 4-4) managed to pull even twice in the second half but couldn't grab the lead. Siena trailed 58-55 after two Evan Fisher free throws with 2:08 remaining, but Pillari hit a bucket and 1 of 2 free throws to ignite an 8-0 run to close out the game for Monmouth.

The Hawks hit 11 of 20 shots in the second half, while Siena hit just 9 of 26 (35 percent). Monmouth had a 10-0 advantage in fast-break points and beat the Saints at home for a sixth straight time.

Sloan Seymour topped Siena with 15 points on five 3-pointers, while Fisher scored 14.