WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.- Monmouth University's men's basketball team improved to 9-12 overall (4-5 NEC) with a 76-68 win over Robert Morris on Saturday night in Boylan Gym. Monmouth senior Dejan Delic (Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro/Bridgton Academy) netted 25 points, including 21 from three-point range, to lead the Hawks to victory.
"Our defensive intensity got us back into the game and carried us through," said MU head Dave Calloway.
The final 10 minutes of the game saw four lead changes, including when Delic hit a three pointer with 3:21 to go to take a 64-62 lead. Marques Alston (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) hit a pair of free throws with 2:55 left before RMU closed to within a bucket with just over two minutes to play. MU earned a five point lead on a Delic trey that sent the crowd to their feet. After the Colonials threw the ball out of bounds, the Hawks owned a 69-64 lead with 1:18 left in regulation. It was Delic who sealed the deal for MU, hitting his seventh three pointer of the night to put Robert Morris away for good.
After closing out the first half with a furious comeback to tie the game at 36-36, the Hawks cranked up the start of the second half with efficiency on the offensive end of the floor clinging to a 43-42 lead. After having a foul called on him, Robert Morris' Jeremy Chappell drew a technical, giving him his fourth and fifth fouls. The Hawks converted on two of their four foul shots, expanding the MU lead to three with 15:40 left in regulation.
Alston's three pointer put the Hawks up 48-44, but Robert Morris was able to convert a layup to slice the Hawk lead to a pair. MU struggled from the line over the next few minutes and Robert Morris was able to retake the lead, however only briefly as Whitney Coleman (Salem, Conn./St. Thomas More) hit a jumper to give MU a 51-50. Delic hit a three pointer to give the Hawks a four-point cushion, which MU followed up with two consecutive defensive stops.
Robert Morris tied the game up at 58-58 after hitting their eighth three pointer of the game, then retook the lead with a free throw at the 6:46 mark. MU retook the lead on Delic's fourth three pointer, but it didn't last long as the Colonials answered with a three of their own.
RMU's Derek Coleman started the scoring off with a three-pointer, but it was the Hawks' Delic who came down and tied the game with a three of his own. Alston gave the Hawks their first lead of the game with a free throw at the 17:08 mark. The two teams traded the lead over the next two minutes, with Monmouth's Youngblood hitting an open shot from beyond the arc to give MU a 11-10 lead. Two straight RMU threes, one from Chapell and Tony Lee each, gave RMU a 16-13 lead before the Colonials hit another wide open trey to expand their lead to six.
A John Bunch (Randallstown, Md./Randallstown) layup cut the lead to four before the Hawks seemed to get some momentum back on a thrown away ball from RMU but MU was unable to come away with any points. The Colonials kept the margin at eight over the middle part of the half, with the Hawks scoring to get it within six but not being able to get a stop on defense. MU found itself down by nine with 6:47 to play before Bunch dunked to get the Hawks to within seven. A Coleman three point basket cut the RMU lead to 34-26, which was followed up by two consecutive dunks, one by Bunch and one by Coleman. Coleman was fouled on the play, then converted the free throw to put the Colonial lead at three, completing the 8-0 run. The next 30 seconds turned into the Coleman show, as he hit a floater in the lane and then forced a backcourt violation, which was followed up by a Delic three to give the Hawks a 36-34 lead with under a minute to play in the half. When all was said and done, Monmouth rattled off a 13-2 run to close out the first frame, with the scored tied at 36-36 going into the lockeroom. During that stretch, RMU was 0-from-4 from the floor and had four turnovers.
Delic followed up his 5-for-5 three point performance against Saint Francis with a 7-of-10 night against RMU, on his way to a game-leading 25 points. His seven three-pointers ties a career-record for the senior, who moved up to 13th place all-time on MU's scoring list with his performance. Coleman had 15 points, five assists and six rebounds. Jhamar Youngblood (Newark, N.J./St. Patrick's) finished with 13 points. Bunch had eight points, eight rebounds and six blocks in the game.
Lee led the Colonials with 21 points, while chipping in seven rebounds. Chappell had 16 points before he fouled out with A.J. Jackson leading the way on the glass with 11 rebounds.
RMU committed 20 turnovers, which Monmouth turned into 35 points. The Hawks shot 52 percent on the night but were out-rebounded 38-25.
The win extends MU's home winning streak to six, with the Hawks next game coming against St. Francis (N.Y.) at Boylan next Saturday night.
