WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. ? Trailing by eight points with four minutes remaining, Monmouth senior Alex Nunner scored the last 11 points for the Hawks, including the game-winning basket with 8.0 seconds left, to lift Monmouth to a 74-73 Northeast Conference victory over Long Island, on Thursday night.

Two free throws by Nunner pulled Monmouth within 73-72 with 1:32 left in the contest, and with 46.0 seconds left, LIU milked the clock and settled for a Lucas Faggiano three-point attempt from the corner. Off the miss, Yaniv Simpson grabbed the weakside, defensive rebound with 14 ticks remaining, and on the ensuing possession, Nunner connected on yet another drive, giving MU a 74-73 edge.

“Honestly, I just didn't want to lose the game, so I went to the basket,” commented Nunner, who ended with a career-high tying 14 points. “I thought I could at least get fouled and give us a chance.”

After an LIU timeout with 7.5 seconds left, Jaytornah Wisseh pushed the ball up the floor and found Tyrone Mattison in the corner for a game-winning trifecta attempt, but the shot was deflected by a streaking Mike Myers Keitt to end the game.

Monmouth, which has now won four straight home games, snapped a four-game losing streak to the Blackbirds, and improved to 6-14 overall, and 4-4 in the NEC. Long Island, which entered the contest in second place in the conference standings, fell to 9-9 and 5-3 in the league.

“We made the play at the end of the game,” added head coach Dave Calloway. “That means we can wake up happy tomorrow morning. If they had made that shot, tomorrow morning would be different.”

Back-to-back jumpers from Simpson and Myers Keitt two minutes into the game, gave the Hawks an early 4-3 advantage, but Kyle Johnson's third early three-pointer, put Long Island in front 11-6, with 15:17 remaining.

Three Monmouth trifectas, including two from Will Campbell, pushed the Hawks back in front, 17-14, but a Julian Boyd traditional three-point play, and Mattison's three-pointer from the corner, gave the Blackbirds a 22-19 advantage at the 9:16 mark.

The Blackbirds, who opened 6-for-10 from beyond the arc, went ahead 26-21 on Wisseh's trey with 6:57, and built the lead to 36-27 with 2:30 remaining, when David Hicks dropped in a reverse layup after a baseline drive. With two and half minutes remaining, and trailing by its largest margin of the half, Monmouth strung together an 8-2 run to end the stanza, highlighted by trifectas from Simpson and Nick DelTufo, to pull within 38-35 at the break.

In the opening half, Long Island registered nine possessions that resulted in three points, including 7-for-14 from beyond the arc.

LIU's Johnson, who hit his fourth three, gave the Blackbirds a 43-35 edge out of intermission, but Travis Taylor's three-point play pulled Monmouth within 45-42 with 17:37 showing.

Another Taylor post move, short jumper by Myers Keitt in the lane (off a feed from Taylor), and R.J. Rutledge's three-pointer, capped a 7-3 spurt, and gave Monmouth a 49-48 edge with 13:50 remaining.

Monmouth held a 51-50 advantage at the 12:11 mark after a Taylor post move, but LIU notched the next seven points, over a 2:24 span, to grab a 57-51 lead.
The Hawks clawed within 59-57 with 8:11 remaining on DelTufo's post basket, but consecutive Julian Boyd drives gave Long Island a 63-57 edge with 7:25 showing.

Another DelTufo lay-in, and a corner trey from Rutledge drew Monmouth within a single point, 63-62, with 6:35 left, but Long Island answered with an 8-1 spurt over the next 2:32, to coral a 71-63 lead.

Trailing by six, with 2:51 remaining, Nunner delivered a drive down the lane, to pull the Monmouth within 71-67.

After an empty LIU possession, Nunner connected on a three-pointer, and was fouled, to pull the Hawks within 71-70, but missed the potential game-tying free throw out of a timeout. Despite Nunner corralling his own miss, LIU found possession, which resulted in two David Hicks free throws, pushing the lead to 73-70.

Nunner led four Hawks in double-figures, notching 14 points, while the trio of Myers Keitt, Simpson and Taylor each added 10 points. DelTufo notched a season-high tying nine points as well.

Monmouth, which shot 57.7% (15-for-26) in the second half alone, connected on 48.2% for the game, including 9-of-17 from beyond the arc.

Long Island, which went 20-for-22 from the free throw line, was led by Wisseh's 22 points and five assists. Johnson added 18 points and six rebounds.

Monmouth returns to action on Saturday, January 24th, when the Hawks travel to defending league champion Mount St. Mary's for an NEC contest in Knott Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.