GAME NOTES: The Monmouth Hawks shoot for a second straight league victory as they host the Iona Gaels in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference showdown at the MAC on Sunday.

Monmouth, which used to compete in the NEC before moving over to the MAAC, is a game under .500 at the moment, thanks to a three-game skein. However, the team stopped the bleeding on Thursday with a 57-50 victory over Marist in the conference opener on the road.

As for the Gaels, a team which opened the campaign with four wins in five tries, they are coming off a 94-77 loss at the hands of Arkansas a week ago as they prepare to tip off their league slate.

The Gaels have won all four of the previous meetings in the series, including an 89-70 decision in the latest meeting on Valentine's Day of this year.

In a game that featured eight ties and 11 lead changes, the Gaels turned the ball over 18 times and shot just 7-of-23 behind the 3-point line in the setback to an undefeated Alabama program. David Laury and A.J. English both scored 25 points for the visitors, the former also pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds and the latter hitting 4-of-8 shots beyond the arc. Kelvin Amayo pitched in with 13 points, seven assists and six boards in the losing cause.

One of the leading point producers in the entire nation, English is generating 25.2 ppg as he shoots 43.1 percent on the perimeter. But more than just a scorer, English is also coming up with 5.5 rpg, almost exclusively at the defensive end of the floor, while handing out a team-high 29 assists over six games. Laury chips in 17.2 ppg for Iona, followed by Isaiah Williams and Shadrac Casimir with 14.8 and 14.2 ppg, respectively, as the team puts up an impressive 86.2 ppg.

Against Marist, the Hawks suffered 20 turnovers, but at least the visitors were able to force 21 miscues in order to balance the scales. Justin Robinson scored a team-best 12 points for Monmouth, followed by Brice Kofane with 11 and seven rebounds for a squad that hit only 3-of-12 behind the 3-point line, but still managed to make good on 51.1 percent from the floor overall.

Although he failed to even score in double figures the last time out, Deon Jones is still a key piece of the offense for the Hawks with his team-high 12.4 ppg. Not only has Jones led the team in scoring in four games this season, he is also working hard on the glass to come up with 4.6 rpg, which is second only to Kofane (7.3 ppg) who is pulling down 5.4 rpg. Kofane, who has refrained from even attempting a single 3-pointer, is also tops with 15 blocked shots for the program.

Sloppy play will not get it done against the Gaels in this meeting and the chance of the Monmouth defense forcing almost two dozen turnovers is not good, so the hosts had better stay in control if they want to be in contention.