WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Senior Dejan Delic's free throw with 32.7 seconds left in the game, proved to be the difference in the Monmouth University men's basketball team's 51-50 win over St. Peter's on Saturday afternoon. Monmouth improved to 2-4 on the season, while the Peacocks fell to 2-3.

After a defensive stop with 50 seconds left, the Hawks reclaimed the lead, their first since 17:18 of the second half, when Delic drained a free throw with 32.7 ticks left.

The Hawks' defense forced SPC to call timeout with 3.7 seconds left, before MU, who had four team fouls, fouled with 2.9 seconds remaining, before Tim Spitler's baseline shot at the buzzer fell short.

After missing its first eight field goal attempts, and trailing 6-1, Monmouth rattled off a 10-3 spurt, highlighted by a Jhamar Youngblood three-point play and a Whitney Coleman three-pointer, to secure its first lead at 11-9, with 7:33 left in the opening half.

Coleman drained his second straight trifecta the next trip down to increase the lead to 14-9, before the sophomore dropped in a corner three with 4:48 to give the Hawks a 19-12 edge. Sophomores Kevin Spann and Quenton Martin helped the Peacocks claw back into the contest with back-to-back successes from beyond the arc, cutting the lead to 19-18 with 3:17 showing. Spitler brought SPC all the way from seven behind, as his offensive rebound-tip put the Peacocks up 20-19.

The two squads traded the lead over the final 1:35, as Coleman's jumper in the paint gave MU a 23-22 edge at the intermission.

SPC used a 6-0 spurt over a 1:18 span to capture a four-point edge, 32-28, with 15:37 remaining, before increasing the lead to 37-30 when Raul Orta hit his fourth three-pointer. Monmouth trimmed the lead to 37-34 at 11:19 when Coleman connected on a lay-up off an inbounds pass, but the Peacocks pushed the cushion up to 45-36 when Scott McRae hit his second trifecta of the second half.

After five straight points from Mike Shipman, the Hawks trailed 45-40 after two blocks on the defensive end by John Bunch and a layin by Marques Alston, with 6:59 left. The Hawks pulled within 45-44, forcing two straight SPC turnovers, with 5:11 showing, capped by Coleman's steal and dunk.

Orta silenced the crowd, and stopped Monmouth's 8-0 run, with 4:53 showing, as the guard dropped in a pull-back jump shot. Shipman's three pointer from the right wing knotted the score at 47-47 with 4:18 left, before each squad traded three-point baskets in their next possessions.

Three Hawks scored in double-figures, led by Coleman's 17 points, on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor. Shipman added 11 points, while Alston chipped in 10. Bunch added six blocks while, Coleman and Youngblood registered career-bests in steals.

Orta led all scorers with 20 points, as the junior hit 4-of-4 from beyond the arc, while connecting on 8-of-10 for the game. Todd Sowell added 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in the SPC effort.

Monmouth returns to action on Tuesday, when the Hawks travel to Philadelphia, to face the University of Pennsylvania at 7 p.m.


Pictured: senior Dejan Delic