WEST LONG BRANCH? Despite getting a 31 point effort from guard Jhamar Youngblood (Newark, N.J./St. Patrick's), Monmouth University's men's basketball team were downed by Sacred Heart, 82-75 on Friday night. SHU used a 19-2 run late in the game to spoil Monmouth's Senior Night, in which five seniors played their last game in Boylan.

After blowing a double-digit lead twice, Monmouth found itself down by three points with under two minutes to go against the Pioneers. With just over a minute to go Dejan Delic (Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro/Bridgton Academy) had a chance to tie the game but the ball bounced off the iron and into SHU hands. A pair of successful free throws gave Sacred Heart a six point lead, one they would not relinquish.

After Sacred Heart cut the halftime lead to five in the opening minutes of the second half, two straight buckets by seniors Marques Alston (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) and Delic restored the Blue & White's double-digit advantage. Freshman guard Jhamar Youngblood (Newark, N.J./St. Patrick's) hit back to back buckets for the Hawks, keeping distance between MU and SHU. Senior John Bunch (Randallstown, Md./Randallstown) got a roar out of the near capacity crowd after converting a three-point play to give Monmouth a 51-39 lead with 13 minutes remaining.

Youngblood notched a new career high in points, scoring his 21st with just under 12 minutes to play. Sacred Heart started to rally, closing the gap to seven points on a Chauncey Hardy trey. Two straight buckets by Youngblood gave Monmouth a 13 point lead, prompting a Sacred Heart timeout with 8:04 to play. Corey Hallet (Shelburne, Nova Scotia/Shelburne), also playing in his last regular season home game, hit a pair of free throws to give MU a 65-53 lead with time winding down. Sacred Heart would not go away, rattling off seven straight points to close to within five with 5:37 left in regulation. Hardy hit a three pointer, his second straight, to get the visitors within a pair. Monmouth committed two straight turnovers, the second of which ended in a SHU three pointer, giving the Pioneers the lead for the first time all game. Ryan Litke hit another three, their 10th of the game to complete the 16-0 run. Sacred Heart's hot hand from three point range didn't slow down as Granato hit a three pointer to put the score at 72-67. Youngblood's dash and scoop stopped the MU scoring drought but the Hawks were still down by three with 1:58 to play. The Pioneers spoiled Senior Day for the Hawks, coming away with the 82-75 victory.

Monmouth raced out to a 7-3 lead in the first four minutes including a three pointer by Delic. After the first media timeout, Coleman hit a jumper and the Blue & White were up 9-5. A Pioneer bucket slashed the lead to two before Alston hit a three pointer on the wing which was followed up by a Coleman three on the next MU possession. Youngblood sent the spectators its feet after anticipating a Sacred Heart pass and completing the play with a one handed dunk at 13:38 mark. A three pointer from Sacred Heart's Tavio Hobson cut the MU margin to 26-19 with just under eight minutes to play in the half. The team's traded points over the next three minutes with Monmouth owning an eight lead point after a Delic driving layup. With time running out Youngblood took the ball from mid-court splitting the Sacred Heart defense, ending the half with a dazzling finger roll to give the Hawks a 39-28 halftime lead. The freshman guard ended the first frame with 14 points.

Youngblood led all scorers with his 31 point effort, adding eight rebounds to his night. Alston finished with 15 points and five rebounds while Delic had 10 points. The Hawks shot 48 percent on the night.

Sacred Heart outscored Monmouth 54-36 in the second half, including eight three pointers in the final frame. SHU shot almost 50 percent for the game and were led by Brice Brooks' and Litke's 17 point efforts. Brooks also had nine rebounds in the game. The Pioneers had two other players in double digit scoring.

The Hawks still have an opportunity to lock up a spot in the upcoming Northeast Conference Tournament when they face St. Francis (Pa.) on the road on Monday night. The Red Flash and Hawks will play at 7 p.m.

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