Monmouth rolls in MAAC quarterfinal, beats Niagara 84-59

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Louie Pillari scored a career-high 16 points and Monmouth extended its winning streak to 17 with an 84-59 victory over Niagara in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference quarterfinal Friday night.

Top-seeded Monmouth (27-5) plays No. 4 seed Siena or fifth-seeded Fairfield in a semifinal on Sunday.

Justin Robinson had 14 points and Chris Brady added 13 for Monmouth. Micah Seaborn, the Hawks' starting guard, left the game early in the second half with an injury and finished with three points.

Dominic Robb scored 12 points to lead Niagara, which beat Quinnipiac 88-69 in the first round of the tournament to snap a five-game losing streak.

Monmouth took the lead for good with six minutes left in the first half, and closed on a 23-6 run for a 47-30 halftime advantage. Niagara pulled within 15 points in the second half but didn't get closer.