WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. ? Monmouth's second half rally fell short, as the Hawks dropped a 75-65 decision to Long Island in NEC men's basketball action on Saturday night. The Hawks, who are now 1-11 at home this season, fall to 6-22 overall and 3-13 in the league.
LIU (14-13, 6-10 NEC), which connected on 29-of-39 from the foul line in the game, outscored the Hawks 12-4 in the final 3:53 to hold on the for the road win.
After Long Island opened the contest with an 8-5 lead, Monmouth rattled off a 9-0 run over the next 2:48, to snare a 14-8 lead with 14:11 left in the half. The Blackbirds responded with a 13-2 run, highlighted by two traditional three-point plays, to reclaim the lead and take a 21-16 advantage with 10:51 remaining.
Monmouth battled back to knot the score at 23-23 at 8:35 when Alex Nunner canned a corner three off an inbounds play, and the Hawks retook the lead 50 seconds later on R.J. Rutledge's driving basket.
Eugene Kotorobai, who netted eight straight points for LIU, including two trifectas, gave the Blackbirds a 31-27 advantage with 4:44 left in the half. Jaytornah Wisseh's two foul shots gave the Blackbirds a 33-27 lead, at the 4:09 mark, but LIU, which was 13-for-16 from the line in the first half, extended the advantage to 40-31 at the intermission.
LIU, which ended the first half on a 7-0 run, extended the spurt to 10-0 out of the break when David Hicks drained a three-pointer at 19:28, to give the Blackbirds a 43-31 lead.
After Dutch Gaitley's post move pulled the Hawks within 45-38 with 16:48 left, Kellen Allen scored the next five points, including two post-move hoops, to put the Blackbirds back ahead 50-38 with 12:46 left.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Nunner and Yaniv Simpson made the score 52-44 with 11:48 showing, and Rutledge's consecutive treys made it a one-point game, 53-52, with 8:02 left in the contest.
Tyrone Mattison, who hit two foul shots with 7:16 showing, ended Monmouth's 11-1 spurt, and two Wisseh free throws put LIU back ahead 57-52, with 6:53 remaining.
The Hawks, whose next three baskets were from beyond the arc, pulled within 63-61 with 3:53 left, on Simpson's second trey of the spurt.
Allen registered the next eight points for LIU, to reclaim a 71-63 edge, and Mattison's two foul shots gave the Blackbirds a 75-65 lead with 45 seconds remaining.
Monmouth, which had four players foul out, had four players score in double-digits, paced by Nunner and Coleman, who had 11 points each. Hett, who added six assists and five rebounds, and Rutledge each posted 10 points for the Hawks. Freshman Kevin Schafer added two assists and a rebound for the Blue and White.
Allen, who scored 17 of his game-high 25 points in the final 15 minutes of action, added eight rebounds. Wisseh posted 20 points and six boards, while Kotorobai added 13 points for the Blackbirds.
Monmouth returns to action on Thursday, February 28, when the Hawks host Saint Francis University in Boylan Gym, at 7:00 p.m.
