HAMDEN, CONN. ? Monmouth opened Northeast Conference action with a 65-51 defeat at Quinnipiac on Saturday afternoon at TD Banknorth Center. With the contest knotted at 40-40 with 12:40 remaining, Quinnipiac outscored the Hawks 25-11 down the stretch to secure the league victory.

Monmouth, which led by as many as 13 points in the first half, falls to 1-8 overall and 0-1 in the NEC, while the Bobcats improve to 4-3 and 1-0 in league play.

Monmouth, which hit its first three three-pointers of the game, corralled an 11-4 lead at 15:49 when Yaniv Simpson drilled a jump shot along the baseline. The Hawks, who opened 4-for-5 from beyond the arc, pushed the lead to 19-6 with 12:28 remaining, on Nick DelTufo's free throw.

The Hawks, who held Quinnipiac without a field goal for 6:57 in the first half, succumbed to three Justin Rutty baskets, as the Bobcats pulled within 19-14 with 10:16 left. Monmouth responded by netting the next three points to go ahead 22-14, but QU answered with a 9-2 spurt to pull within 24-23 with 3:45 on the clock.

Two DelTufo foul shots gave Monmouth a 30-26 lead, but the Bobcats, behind James Johnson's three- pointer with 5.1 ticks left in the half, snared a 31-30 edge at the break.

Monmouth, behind a Simpson trifecta and Mike Myers Keitt's run-out dunk, grabbed a 35-31 lead with 17:51 showing. The Hawks last lead 40-38 on DelTufo's offensive rebound and put-back with 13:55 left.

With the score knotted at 40-40 with 12:40 left, Quinnipiac went on an 11-2 run over a 5:38 span, to take a 51-42 lead. The Bobcats, who held the Hawks scoreless for a span of 4:51 midway through the stanza, opened a 64-47 advantage on a James Feldeine put-back, with 1:40 remaining.

Simpson, who hit 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, one away from tying a career-high, led the Hawks with 17 points, while Travis Taylor added 13 points and six rebounds. Dutch Gaitley pulled down seven boards for the Hawks.

Rutty led all scorers with 20 points, hitting 9-of-13 from the field, while hauling in a career-high 16 rebounds. Feldeine (18 points, eight rebounds) and Johnson (12 points, nine rebounds) rounded out the double-digit scorers for Quinnipiac, which hit 42.6% from the field for the game.

Quinnipiac, which outrebounded Monmouth 49-22, held the Hawks to 36.7% from the floor.

Head coach Dave Calloway summed up the game by stating, “When you get outrebounded 49-22, it is not about X's and O's, it's not about what offense you run, its not about what defense you play. It's about one thing: it's a free ball, the ball hit the rim, it's in the air, who wants it more.”

Monmouth returns to action on Monday, when the Hawks host Fairleigh Dickinson in an MSG-televised Northeast Conference contest in Boylan Gym. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.