LARAMIE, WYO. - Monmouth, which got 17-point outings from both Ed Waite and Whitney Coleman, fell in its final game of the 2009 World Vision Challenge, 59-56 to Hampton, at the Arena-Auditorium on Sunday.

After a defensive stop, Travis Taylor's tip in off a miss with 1:08 on the clock, pulled Monmouth even at 54-54, but the Pirates, after a time out, retook the lead, 56-54, when Vincent Simpson hit a jump shot off a high screen with 47.2 seconds on the clock.

Trailing by a pair, Waite hit one free throw with 16.4 seconds remaining to pull Monmouth within 56-55, and the Hawks fouled Simpson on the ensuing inbounds, and the guard hit just the front end of the one-and-one, to make it a 57-55 game. On the second miss, Waite was fouled on the rebound, and hit just one free throw to pull Monmouth within 57-56.

Hampton was fouled on the rebound, and Kwame Morgan hit a pair of foul shots, before Waite's game-tying three-point attempt with 3.0 ticks left fell off the rim, as the Pirates held on for the 59-56 win.

Waite notched a season-best 17 points to go along with eight rebounds, while Coleman, who averaged 20.3 points per game in the Challenge, added 17 points and seven boards. Taylor added 13 points and eight caroms to the Hawks' effort. James Hett, who played all 120 minutes in the three games, finished with five assists (19 on the weekend).

After falling behind 6-2, less than two minutes into the game, the Hawks answered by scoring four straight points to knot the score at 6-6 with 17:38 showing. Both sides exchanged baskets until Waite's lay-up and Coleman's three-pointer on a secondary break, tied the game at 10-10, and gave Monmouth its first lead, 13-10, with 14:40 on the board.

Monmouth extended its run to 7-0 when Mike Myers Keitt grabbed an offensive rebound and scored, to boost the Hawks' advantage to 15-10 with 13:02 left.

The Pirates responded with the next five points to tie the score at 15-15, and took a 19-17 lead on a pair of Charles Funches free throws with 8:45 on the clock. Coleman's second trey, 20 ticks later, reclaimed the lead for the Hawks, 20-19.

Hampton grabbed a 21-20 lead at 6:47 on Funches' offensive rebound and putback, but the Blue and White, paced by Coleman's three-pointer, a Travis Taylor putback and Justin Sofman's pull-up jumper in transition, went ahead 27-21 with 5:13 on the clock.

The Hawks corralled a 29-23 lead with 2:42 left on Waite's full court drive, but the Pirates answered with four Michael Freeman points to end the half and pull Hampton within 29-27 at the intermission.

After Monmouth opened a four-point edge, 33-29, on Taylor's offensive putback, the Pirates rattled off a 9-0 run over the next two minutes of action to grab a 38-33 lead.

Waite, who ended Monmouth's 3:21 scoreless drought with a post-up basket, pulled the Hawks within 38-35 with 14:00 minutes remaining.

Over the next three minutes of play, the two sides exchanged baskets, before the Hawks broke the streak on a Waite free throw with 10:29 left, trimming the lead to 44-42.

Monmouth clawed back in front, 45-44, at 8:47 when Sofman drained a wing three-pointer, and behind a 10-0 spurt, grabbed a 49-44 lead with 5:15 showing. The Pirates responded with the next seven points, capped by Funches' three-point play, to take a 51-49 lead with 3:13 remaining.

Coleman's pull-up jumper along the baseline pulled Monmouth even at 51-51, but Hampton's Kwame Morgan drilled a deep three-pointer, off an offensive rebound, to give the Pirates a 54-51 lead with 2:15 left.

Monmouth (2-5), which went 1-2 in the World Vision Challenge, returns to action on Saturday, December 5, when the Hawks open Northeast Conference action at Sacred Heart, at 1:00 p.m.

The naming rights to the tournament were donated to World Vision by Basketball Travelers, Inc. As a Christian humanitarian organization, World Vision aims to contribute to a 75 percent reduction in malaria cases, with the end goal of nearly zero preventable malaria deaths by 2015. World Vision works in 62 malaria-endemic countries, 23 of which are in sub-Saharan Africa.

2009 World Vision Challenge Tournament Awards
Champion-Pepperdine
Second Place-Hampton
Third Place-Monmouth
Fourth Place-Wyoming

Tournament MVP
MVP (Pepperdine)--#3 Keion Bell

All-Tournament Team
Pepperdine--#1 Dane Suttle, Jr.
Hampton--#2 Vincent Simpson
Hampton--#21 Michael Freeman
Monmouth--#5 Whitney Coleman
Wyoming--#15 Adam Waddell