WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. ? The Monmouth University men's basketball team shot 50.0% from the floor in the second half, en route to a 74-63 comeback victory over Quinnipiac, in Northeast Conference play, on Saturday evening at Boylan Gym. The Hawks, who trailed by nine points with 10:04 left in the game, improve to 5-13 overall, and 3-3 in league play, while Quinnipiac falls to 8-9 and 4-3 in the conference.

“The way we came back and fought through the adversity tonight proves the strides we are taking as a team," commented head coach Dave Calloway, whose Hawks improve to 4-4 at home this season.

With the game tied at 54-54 with 5:13 remaining in the second half, Monmouth freshman guard Will Campbell hit a three-pointer from the right wing and converted a fast break layup off a bounce pass from Alex Nunner to give the Hawks a 59-54 lead with 4:14 left. MU took a 65-56 advantage after Campbell made a strong move to the rim and converted a lay in with just over two minutes showing. Sophomore guard RJ Rutledge punctuated the contest with a two-handed dunk to push the lead to 68-58 with a minute left.

Monmouth took an early 7-5 lead with 14:53 left in the first half paced by a pair of backdoor lay-ups from sophomore point guard James Hett. Travis Taylor converted a jumper from the left elbow to give MU a 13-9 lead, and Hett drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key after a Taylor kick out with 9:34 left in the first half to further pad the Hawks' lead to 18-11.

James Johnson beat the shot clock for Quinnipiac with a high-arching jumper to cut the MU lead to 20-16 with 7:16 left in the first half, and the Bobcats took their first lead since the 17:56 mark after guard Bryan Geffen connected on a triple from the right wing to give Quinnipiac a 21-20 advantage at the six-minute mark.

After QU stretched its lead to five, Nunner canned a three-pointer from the right wing to make it 29-27 with 1:07 left before intermission. Monmouth took a 30-29 lead into the halftime locker room when Dutch Gaitley beat the first half buzzer when he hit his second three-pointer of the season.

Mike Myers Keitt and Hett, who also contributed four assists and no turnovers, each led the way for Monmouth with seven points in the first half. Nunner added six points and a pair of assists and Taylor scored five points and added four boards. The Hawks, who shot 44% in the first half, had 10 assists on their 11 first half field goals, compared to only five turnovers.

Geffen led Quinnipiac, who shot 44.4% in the first half, with eight points while James Feldeine added seven.

The Bobcats came out of the halftime break and seized early control of the half, taking a 38-33 lead five minutes into the second period. The visitors stretched their lead to 44-36 at the 10:55 mark of the second half after Justin Rutty threw down a two-handed dunk. MU made only one of their first six shots in the second half, a Yaniv Simpson left wing three.

Taylor helped the Hawks regain some momentum when he followed up a miss shot and converted a traditional three-point play at the 10:00 mark to cut the lead to 46-40. Freshman guard Will Campbell knotted the contest at 46-46 less than two minutes later when drilled a three-pointer from the right wing. Rutledge's lay-up after a steal gave the Hawks a 50-46 advantage and capped a 13-0 Monmouth run, with 7:19 left in the contest.

Taylor paced four Hawks in double figures with 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. Campbell added a career-high 12 points, all in the second half, to go along with six rebounds. Nunner added 11 points and five assists, while Gaitley contributed 11 points and five boards.

The Hawks shot 46.8% from the floor while QU shot 41.4%. The Hawks assisted on 19 of their 22 made baskets in the game and connected on 7-of-18 three-point field goals in the game. Louis Brookins led the Bobcats with 14 points, while Johnson scored 12. Feldeine and Geffen each added 11 in the contest.

"Our defense keyed on stopping Quinnipiac's inside game, and Dutch did a great job of neutralizing [Justin] Rutty tonight," added Calloway.

Monmouth returns to action on Monday, January 19 when the Hawks visit in-state NEC rival Fairleigh Dickinson for a 6:00 p.m. tip in Hackensack. The game will be broadcast on MSG-TV.