WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Monmouth, which led at the half for the first time all season, surrendered 46 second half points to Fairleigh Dickinson, as the Knights posted a 71-67 win in Boylan Gym, on Monday night.

Fairleigh Dickinson used a 14-3 run over a three minute span late in the game to overcome a 15-point deficit taking their first lead of the game with under 20 seconds to play.

Down by two with 1.6 seconds left and the ball, Monmouth was unable to get the inbound pass off cleanly, giving Fairleigh Dickinson its first win of the season. MU fell to 1-9 overall (0-2 NEC) with the loss, while FDU improved to 1-6 (1-1 NEC) with the victory.

With 1:21 showing on the clock, FDU's Cameron Tyler had a chance to take the lead for his team for the first time all game but missed his first of two free throws, tying the game at 67-67. With time winding down, Tyler put up a shot that rang soft off the rim but the shot was followed up by Terence Grier, putting FDU ahead 69-67 with 16.3 seconds left in regulation. Unable to get a clear shot off, MU called a timeout with eight seconds left but Yaniv Simpson's three-pointer missed its mark and Alvin Mofunanya grabbed the rebound for the Knights and was fouled.

Monmouth continued its most impressive first half effort of the season into the second half, expanding its 10-point halftime lead to as much as 15 before FDU hit back to back threes to cut the Hawk lead to 10. Knight guard Sean Baptiste registered a steal and a layup, scoring his 19th point of the game and getting his team to within eight with just over 10 minutes to play in the game. A pair of George Barbour free throws reset the MU advantage to 10 but a traditional three point play by Mofunanya put his squad back seven with 9:47 left in the half.

The Knight run continued, with Tyler swiping the ball and tallying a fast break layup. After a MU turnover, Tyler hit a jumper and FDU found itself back by just one, 53-52, with 8:04 left in the half. With 6:26 to play, Tyler tied the game for the first time since the opening tip on two free throws. The Hawk offense picked up and Monmouth was able to keep a three point cushion over the next three minutes. Monmouth led 67-61 with 2:18 to play after Mike Myers Keitt converted a traditional three point play but FDU answered with five straight points to get to within one.

It took FDU to the 13:12 mark to earn their first points on a Baptiste three ball, as Monmouth built an 11-3 lead over that span. The Knights launched a seven point run to close to within three before freshman Travis Taylor hit layups on back to back trips to help the Hawks to a 15-10 lead with just over nine minutes to play in the first half. Baptiste cut the home lead to five when R.J. Rutledge brought the crowd to its feet with a back door dunk to push the Monmouth advantage to 22-15 with 5:46 on the clock.

A pair of free throws from Tyler closed the MU lead to three but the Hawks tore off seven points over a 65 second span to expand the score to 29-19. Hett started the run with a jumper before Simpson hit a three from the wing, with Myers Keitt ending the spree with another jumpshot. Hett and Simpson nailed three pointers on back to back possessions for the Blue & White, the second of which was answered with a trey from the hands of FDU's Baptiste. The opening half ended with MU holding a 35-25 advantage, the first halftime lead for the Hawks on the season.

Baptiste led all scorers with 23 points in the game, while Mofunanya tallied a career high 20 (and eight rebounds). Tyler finished with a season-high 17 points.

Myers Keitt tied his career high with 20 points, while senior Alex Nunner was the only other Hawk in double digits with 10 points. Dutch Gaitley led MU on the glass with eight rebounds.

Monmouth returns to action on Wednesday, December 12, when the Hawks travel to Rider, for a non-conference game at 7 p.m.