WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Despite 20-point efforts from Will Campbell and Travis Taylor, Monmouth dropped a 70-63 non-conference decision to visiting Rider on Saturday afternoon. Campbell, in his first start of the season, tied a career-high with 27 points, while Taylor notched his fourth 20-point outing of the season, as the Hawks fell to 3-9 overall.

Rider, which outscored the Hawks 30-19 over the final 10 minutes of action, improved to 8-5 overall, and was led by Justin Robinson's 19 points and Jhamar Youngblood's 16 - 14 of which came in the second half.

Rider opened the game with an 8-2 lead after back-to-back layups, but three straight baskets, including a pair of dunks from Taylor to knot the score at 8-8 with 14:50 remaining. After Ryan Thompson's short jumper gave the Broncs a 10-8 lead, the Hawks claimed their first lead on a Campbell three-pointer, 11-10, with 13:30 left.

Monmouth, which started an 11-0 spurt on Campbell's trey, took a 19-10 advantage on four points from Taylor and another four from Ed Waite, capped by Waite's follow-up dunk at 7:47.

The Broncs, who went scoreless for 6:30, ended its drought at 7:26 on Mike Ringold's reverse lay-in, but Waite responded with his seventh straight point on a wing three-pointer, and Taylor's baseline jumper increased the Hawks' lead to 24-12 with 5:26 left.

Rider answered with a 7-0 spurt to pull within 24-19, but Taylor's jumpshot from the left baseline gave Monmouth a 26-19 edge with 2:47 on the clock.

After Waite's second trifecta of the half put Monmouth in front 29-21, a pair of Justin Thompson three-pointers helped the Broncs climb within 29-27 with 37.0 seconds left in the half. Taylor, who finished the opening stanza with 16 points, connected on a pair of foul shots with 7.0 ticks remaining, put the Hawks ahead 31-27 at the break.

The Broncs pulled within three-points 90 seconds into the second half, but five straight points, capped by a Campbell three-pointer, put Monmouth ahead 38-30 with 16:29 on the clock.

Rider answered with an 8-1 run, which included Taylor's fourth foul, to pull within 39-38 with 11:27 showing. After the Broncs climbed within 41-40, Campbell's three-point play pushed the Hawks in front 44-40 with 10:01 showing.

Trailing 46-41, Justin Robinson hit four straight free throws, to pull Rider within 46-45, while Youngblood's break out gave the Broncs their first lead, 47-46, since the 14-minute mark of the first half.

A pair of Campbell foul shots with 7:24 remaining, stopped an 8-0 run by the Broncs, and the sophomore drained a wing three-pointer to tie the score at 51-51 with 6:35 left.

With the game knotted, Youngblood's three consecutive drives put Rider in the lead 57-51, before Campbell's fourth three-pointer pulled the Hawks within 57-54 with 4:56 on the clock. Rider answered with 9-2 run to take a 66-56 advantage with 1:29 left.

Monmouth, which had a third player, Waite (13), in double-figures, shot 46.7%, while the Broncs connected on 48.9%, including 12-of-23 in the second half.

Campbell, who went 7-for-7 from the foul line, connected on four three-pointers, en route to his 27 points, while adding three steals and two assists. Taylor and Waite combined to go 12-for-14 from the field, with 11 rebounds, five assists, two blocks and a steal.

Monmouth returns to action on Wednesday, December 23, when the Hawks host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, at 7:00 p.m.

POSTGAME TRANSCRIPTS
12/19/09 VS. RIDER

MONMOUTH HEAD COACH DAVE CALLOWAY
Opening Remarks:
"We played well for 15 minutes in the first half and for 15 minutes in the second half, but games are 40 minutes long. That has been a problem for us all year long, and we had too many turnovers. When we needed to get stops at the end, we didn't. Defense is about stopping the guy with the ball, and we didn't do that today, especially down the stretch."

On Will Campbell, Ed Waite and Taylor:
"Will really stepped up today, and we need that when Travis isn't on the floor. It's not alway going to be Travis - it can't always be Travis. Ed played terrific today too."

MONMOUTH FORWARD TRAVIS TAYLOR
Who was whistled for his fourth personal foul with 13:52 remaining:
"Of course you want to be on the floor, but even on the bench, you still have a job to do. You have to cheer your teammates on and let them know what you see." 

RIDER HEAD COACH TOMMY DEMPSEY
Opening Remarks:
"This is never an easy game. It's a bit of a rivalry game. Monmouth is a well coached team and they never make it easy on you. Monmouth played very well and we were fortunate to beat them."

On Jhamar Youngblood:
"Jhamar was a huge key. He made some big-time finishes and was the difference in the game."