WEST HARTFORD, CONN. ? The Monmouth University men's basketball team fell at the University of Hartford, 67-53, on Tuesday night in non-conference action. Monmouth (2-7) was led by a career-high 22 points from freshman R.J. Rutledge, who connected on four three-pointers. Hartford improves to 5-6 on the year.
Hartford jumped out to a 9-0 lead at 14:50, while Monmouth opened with seven empty possessions, before Alex Nunner got the Blue and White on the board at the 14-minute mark with a corner three-pointer in transition.
UH mounted a 14-3 edge at 12:19 when Brian Glowiak connected on a wing trey, and extended the advantage to 17 points with 6:28 remaining when Kevin Estes delivered a free throw. Monmouth ended a nearly six-minute scoreless streak at 6:15 when Rutledge drained a short jumper in the lane, cutting the lead to 21-6.
Rutledge's second three-pointer, from the top of the key, made the score 28-12 with 2:54 left, and James Hett's two free throws pulled MU with 28-14 with 2:30 remaining, but Hartford answered with a 10-1 run to close out the half and corral a 38-15 cushion at the break.
Monmouth opened the second half on a 9-2 run to pull within 40-24 with 14:58 remaining, capped by Whitney Coleman's three-point play, which included a drive down the lane and a dunk.
Hartford reclaimed a 22-point edge, 55-33, with 6:53 left, when Warren McLendon converted a three-point play. With 4:56 left, UH pushed the advantage to 62-35, outscoring Monmouth 10-2 over a two-minute span.
Monmouth, which trailed by as many as 27 points in the second half, outscored UH 15-3 over the final 2:31 of the contest to make the final score 67-53.
The Hawks, who connected on just 20.0% from the field in the opening half, finished 18-of-44 from the floor, including a 14-for-24 showing in the second stanza. DelTufo added 10 points to the Hawks' effort, along with six rebounds, while Coleman chipped in seven points.
Monmouth allowed Hartford 13 three-pointers in the defeat.
Monmouth returns to action on Saturday when the Hawks host in-state rival Rider at 7 p.m., in Boylan Gym.
