NEW BRITAIN, CONN. - The Monmouth University men's basketball team dropped a 49-46 decision in Northeast Conference action to Central Connecticut State at Detrick Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. Dejan Delic's three-point attempt that would have tied the game with .03 seconds remaining, fell just short in the Hawks' third straight loss. CCSU, 9-10 overall and 6-1 in the NEC, snaps a seven-game losing streak to Monmouth. The Hawks fall to 7-11 and 2-4 in the league.
Monmouth, which held a 45-36 lead with 10:30 remaining in the game, scored one point, a Marques Alston free throw throughout the remainder of the contest.
The Hawks and Blue Devils went back and forth early with MU falling behind 18-15 at the 5:00 mark as Jhamar Youngblood and Delic each scored four early points for Monmouth.
Marques Alston converted a traditional three-point play at the 2:00 mark to trim the lead to 23-21, and Delic gave the Hawks a lead with a left-wing three pointer on the next possession at 24-23 with less than a minute left. The Blue Devils answered, but Javier Mojica missed a jumper at the first half buzzer as CCSU went into intermission with a 25-24 lead.
The Hawks were led at the half by Delic's nine points as he hit all four shots he took in the first half, including one three-point field goal.
Delic hit a right corner three-pointer to give the Hawks a 35-34 lead at the 15:59 mark. The historic shot gave him 1,001 career points, making him the 16th player in MU history to score at least 1,000 career points.
The Hawks then went on an 10-0 scoring spree highlighted by a Delic floater and Youngblood steal and finger-roll finish to push the MU lead to its largest of the game at 45-36 at the 9:59 mark. The Blue Devils then responded with a 9-0 run of their own highlighted by a Joe Seymour left-wing three-pointer and Jemino Sobers putback to tie the game at 45-45 at the 4:39 mark.
Alston hit the front end of two-shot foul to give Monmouth a 46-45 lead at the 1:19 mark, but Tristan Blackwood hit a circus shot in the lane to give the Blue Devils a 46-45 advantage with 50.8 seconds left. Alston's free-throw snapped an 8:41 scoreless drought for the Hawks.
Blackwood then dribbled the clock down for Central and fed Sobers for an alley-oop dunk to give the Blue Devils a 49-46 lead with 6.1 seconds left, which proved to be the game-winner.
Delic, Youngblood and Whitney Coleman each scored in double-figures for the Hawks, as Delic tallied a game-high 14 points. Youngblood added 12 points, while Coleman chipped in 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.
CCSU had four players score in double figures, led by Seymore's 13, while Sobers, Blackwood and Mojica added 10 apiece.
Monmouth returns to action on Monday, when the Hawks travel to St. Francis (N.Y.) for an NEC contest in Brooklyn Heights. Tip off is set for 7 p.m.
