BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y. ? Junior Whitney Coleman's baseline jump shot with four seconds left in overtime, lifted Monmouth to a 62-60 victory in Northeast Conference men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at the Pope Athletic Center.
Highlighted by Coleman's 26 points, including 10-for-10 from the foul line, the Hawks improve to 5-14 overall and 2-5 in the NEC. SFC, which rallied from a 14-point, second half deficit to send the game to overtime, falls to 5-14 and 2-6 in league play.
Ricky Cadell's three-point play, coupled with four Monmouth missed free throws allowed the Terriers to pull within 52-50 with 30 seconds left in regulation. After Alex Nunner hit one free throw to put Monmouth ahead, 53-50, Cadell hit a wing trey with three ticks left to send the game to overtime.
SFC took a 55-53 lead to start the extra session, but Coleman drained a corner three-pointer to reclaim a lead for the Hawks with 2:32 left. After the two teams traded baskets, and Monmouth forced a turnover, R.J. Rutledge hit two free throws with 43.5 ticks remaining to put MU up 60-57. Jamaal Womack answered with a trey with 30 seconds left to pull the Terriers square once again.
Monmouth, which worked the ball around, looking for the last shot, got the ball in Coleman's hands, and the guard delivered the game-winner along the right baseline, with four seconds left.
Monmouth, which led 4-0 out of the break as Nick DelTufo hit two free throws and tipped in a miss, opened a 13-4 advantage with 7:38 left when R.J. Rutledge drained a three-pointer.
The Hawks, who held SFC to 1-of-12 from the field to open the contest, increased the lead to 19-8 with 4:53 left when Jhamar Youngblood dropped in a fast beak layup, but the Terriers rattled off a 7-0 run over the next 1:30 to pull within 19-15 with 2:26 remaining.
Two Whitney Coleman drives and a Rutledge dunk off a SFC turnover to end the half, gave the Hawks a 25-15 advantage at the intermission.
DelTufo scored the first four points out of the break to give Monmouth a 29-15 edge with 18:17 remaining. Trailing 31-17, SFC's Jamaal Womack hit back-to-back three-pointers, from opposite corners, to pull the Terriers with 31-23 with 16:12 remaining.
SFC capped an 11-0 run and made the score 31-28 when Rocco Rubino drained a trey from the corner 11:18 showing. Coleman answered with a trifecta of his own with 10:50 left to end a 6:46 scoreless draught for the Hawks, and put Monmouth ahead 34-28.
Rutledge drained Monmouth's second straight trey with 9:27 left, to put the Blue and White ahead 37-28 and Youngblood's banked in trifecta with 3:22 gave MU a 46-34 edge with 3:22 left.
SFC pulled within 46-39 before four Coleman free throws gave Monmouth a 52-44 lead with 1:14 left.
Coleman led all scorers with 26 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals, while Rutledge chipped in 12 points off the bench. DelTufo added 10 points and five rebounds to the effort, Monmouth's second road win of the year.
The Monmouth defense, which held the NEC's fourth-leading scorer Robert Hines (17.0 ppg) to just five points, limited SFC to 35.8% from the field. Cadell led the Terriers with 20 points, while Womack chipped in with 18 of his own.
Monmouth returns to action on Friday, January 25, when the Hawks host in-state rival Fairleigh Dickinson in Boylan Gym. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m.
