WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. ? After Monmouth missed three free throws in the final minute, Colgate's Ben Jonson hit an elbow jump shot with 2.1 seconds left, to lift the visiting Raiders to a 54-53 victory in non-conference action, on Saturday night.

Monmouth, playing its fourth game in eight days, had James Hett's last second heave fall short, as the Hawks fall to 1-11 on the season, and 0-3 at home.

After an empty Colgate trip, Monmouth missed a chance to make it a two-possession game, when Hett missed the front end of a one-and-one with 41.9 seconds left. The Raiders answered with a dunk by Alex Woodhouse off a feed from Mike Venezia, which pulled Colgate within 53-52 with 26 ticks remaining.

On the inbounds play, Colgate fouled Dutch Gaitley, who missed both shots, as the Hawks were in the double-bonus. The Raiders then called timeout with 10.6 seconds showing, and Jonson's jumper from the elbow, after the forward nearly lost the dribble, gave Colgate the 54-53 victory.

Trailing 5-1 out of the gate, two three-pointers from Yaniv Simpson and a Mike Meyers Keitt jump shot in the lane, gave the Hawks a 9-7 edge at the 14:10 mark. James Hett's layup with 11:16 showing, gave Monmouth a 13-8 cushion, before the Hawks extended the lead to 19-10 on Will Campbell's trifecta off a feed from Hett, with 8:11 remaining in the half.

Alex Nunner's trey with 6:43 left, gave the Hawks a double-digit lead, and Monmouth inflated its advantage to 24-12 with 6:00 minutes remaining, when Simpson drilled a baseline jumper.

Colgate, behind Venezia's three-pointer and an Alex Woodhouse follow-dunk, pulled within 26-21 with 35 ticks remaining, but Nunner's wing jumper with one second left gave the Hawks a 28-21 edge at the break.

Monmouth, which led at the half for just the second time this season, succumbed to a 12-2 Raider run out of the locker room, as Colgate took a 33-30 lead with 12:27 left, on Nick Pascale's jump shot in the lane.

Monmouth, which opened the second half 0-for-10 from the floor, netted its first field at 11:16 on Campbell's break away layup off a Colgate turnover, giving the Hawks a 34-33 lead.

Nunner's second trifecta, with 10 minutes left, capped a 10-0 spurt, five of which came from Campbell, as the Blue and White collected a 40-33 edge.

After Travis Taylor's two free throws gave Monmouth a 42-35 lead with 9:08 showing, Colgate put together a 5-0 run to pull within 42-40 when Jonson connected on a foul line jumper with 7:50 remaining.

Clinging to a one-point lead, Taylor's follow lay-in with 3:26 remaining, gave the Hawks a 48-45 advantage, but Anthony Hill's jumper with one second left on the shot clock, made it a one-point ball game once again, with 2:47 left.

Venezia knotted the game with 1:45 left with a three-pointer that bounced off the rim and backboard, but R.J. Rutledge's three-pointer the next trip down the floor, gave Monmouth a 53-50 lead with 1:24 showing.

Monmouth, which has now lost three games this season in which it held a double-digit lead, connected on 38.3% for the game, but just 7-for-22 in the second half, while Colgate hit 59.1% (13-22) in the second stanza.

Three Monmouth reserves led the offense as Taylor connected for 11 points, and both Nunner and Campbell added 10 points each.

Colgate's (3-6) Venezia led all scorers with 16 points, while Jonson added 11 and Woodhouse chipped in with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Monmouth, which is in the midst of a five-game home stand, returns to action on Friday, December 19, when the Hawks host in-state rival Saint Peter's in non-conference action. Tip-off in Boylan Gym is set for 7:00 p.m.