Hammond has 24, Monmouth holds off Norfolk State 75-71

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WEST LONG BEACH, N.J. (AP) — Deion Hammond scored 24 points and Monmouth held off Norfolk State 75-71 in the Fort Myers Tip-Off campus game on Wednesday night.

Monmouth (4-5) won two consecutive games for the first time this season after getting by Radford 80-63 on Tuesday night.

The Hawks led throughout the second half, but Norfolk State closed to 73-71 in the final seconds as Chris Ford and Steven Whitley had back-to-back layups. Hammond made two free throws with six seconds left to seal the win.

Mustapha Traore added 10 points for Monmouth.

The Hawks held a 38-33 halftime lead. Norfolk State closed to 63-62 after Joe Bryant Jr. drained a 3 and Kashaun Hicks split a pair of free throws with 4:59 left. Monmouth responded with Marcus McClary hitting a jump shot and Hammond nailing a trey to pull ahead 70-62 at the 3:11 mark.

Bryant finished with 19 points and Jermaine Bishop had 16 for Norfolk State (3-5) which has lost four straight games. Whitley chipped in 13 points to go with seven assists.

Monmouth will play at Princeton on Dec. 10. Norfolk State will welcome Niagara Sunday.