PHILADELPHIA — For the first time this season the Monmouth men’s basketball team has the lineup on the court that was planned for last summer.
It’s been worth the wait.
Newcomer Kavion McClain dazzled with 20 points, 6 assists and 3 steals and Monmouth dominated host Drexel 93-73 in a Coastal Athletic Association game Thursday night, Feb. 12.
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It was McClain’s second game back after being benched by the NCAA for 23 games as potential unspecified rules violations have been looked into. The NCAA “informed us that Kavion was permitted to compete even though the process is still ongoing,” Monmouth’s Athletic Director Jen Sansevero said this week.
With Cornelius Robinson also scoring 20 points, the Hawks (13-12, 7-5) were nearly unstoppable with their new look. Drexel won in a blowout when the teams met earlier – it was much different this time.
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“We have a chance like everybody else now,” Monmouth coach King Rice said. “This isn’t now I’m talking junk. Kavion is a difference maker. We said that from the beginning that he’s kept his head cool and been able to continue to get better without playing all year with all the things he was under is unbelievable.”
Robinson’s 20 was his season high. He’s originally from Willingboro, just half an hour away from Drexel’s Daskalakis Athletic Center.
“It was good coming back in front of my family and friends and being able to get a win,” he said.
Monmouth’s Kavion McClain dribbles ball up court against Drexel (Feb. 12, 2026)
4 TAKEAWAYS
1. Kavion McClain’s presence is felt
It’s not hard to see why Rice raved about his transfer guard before the season. In his second game back, McClain controlled the pace of the game. When the Dragons opened the game up with a 5-0 run, a McClain 3-pointer sparked a 10-0 run in response. From there on McClain continued to do virtually whatever he wanted on the floor.
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Without McClain this season, there were times when bringing the ball up took a team effort. That’s no longer the case. After every rebound and bucket, when McClain gets the ball, the rest of the team races down the floor.
“I make it easy on them,” McClain said. “When I first got cleared, everybody knew we was going back to normal. We knew at the start of the season we were going to get up a lot of shots. And we made that a motto throughout this team to get up shots – and everybody ready to shoot. But now since I’m back now they’re more excited. ‘Cause everybody knows they’re getting more touches, they’re getting more shots and it’s going to be easy on them. Everybody’s playing with excitement and we’re just happy to be together. Like finally all together at once.”
He did pick up his fourth foul with 14:50 left in the second half. But whenever Drexel looked to get on a run, McClain found a way to nip it in the bud.
2. Hawks defense shows up
In the middle of the first half, the Dragons went on a scoring drought that lasted over six minutes. The Dragons also had 15 turnovers. The Hawks lead the CAA in blocks and on Thursday they had two rejections. There was a different confidence with Monmouth against a team that blew them out in the first meeting. Players were flying around and switching out when there were issues.
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“Today, it was like all the things we worked on on defense for a long time, came together today,” Rice said, “If you beat me, someone’s supposed to come take you, I’m supposed to start running. And then someone took him, I keep running. We call it peel-switching.”
However, the issue of defending without fouling remains a concern. Monmouth went gave up 10 team fouls in the first half and were in the bonus with 5:37 left. Then Monmouth also committed seven fouls midway through the second half. Jason Rivera-Torres fouled out with a couple minutes left in the game but finished with 18 points.
Monmouth’s Cornelius Robinson (Feb. 12, 2026)
3. Hot shooting
With a true point guard on the floor, players on Monmouth had one less assignment to worry about and it showed offensively. Eight Hawks players were able to score thanks to the way they moved the ball all over the floor. Monmouth hit 11 shots from deep and shot 46% from behind the arc.
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“What it did for us was Jack Collins doesn’t get the shots he normally gets, (Justin) Ray is a shooter like Abdi (Bashir) but he doesn’t get clean looks cause Jack isn’t a point guard,” Rice said. “Jason Rivera-Torres is playing incredible, but he’s going to start playing better because now he doesn’t have these responsibilities that he had. And Kavion can get 20 at any moment.”
Monmouth’s Jack Collins shoots 3-pointer against Drexel (Feb. 12, 2026)
4. Jack Collins on limited minutes
In the latest part of the season, Jack Collins has been dealing with a lower body injury that’s had him miss some games. On Thursday, he had a wrap around his right knee. For most of the season, Collins had to play point guard with McClain out and rarely came out of the game. It was clear on Thursday that Monmouth will monitor Collins’ minutes now that they have more depth on the roster. Collins finished with 5 points, 3 rebounds and played 23 minutes which is tied for his season low.
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Rice said he’s torn about limiting Collins’ minutes.
“I was like ‘all right, I’m putting him back in…’cause man, he’s so important to us he can guard everybody,” Rice said. “I know it’s killing him. He does have a tear, he took a shot. We’re limiting his practice time.”
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Kavion McClain, Monmouth men’s basketball dominates Drexel
