NEW BRITAIN, CONN. ? Trailing by as many as 11 points in the second half, Monmouth rallied for a 75-67 victory over Central Connecticut State in Northeast Conference men's basketball action, on Thursday night. The victory, Monmouth's first on the road all year, keeps the Hawks' NEC Tournament hopes alive with one game left to play in the regular season.

Senior Alex Nunner, who scored 18 of his 19 points in the second half, gave the Hawks their first lead since it was 2-0, with 2:18 left in the contest with his fourth three-pointer of the stanza, 68-67. In the final 2:18, the Hawks outscored CCSU 7-0, all from the free throw line, to secure the victory.

“At halftime, we talked to Alex and told him he would have open looks, and to see the basket, and he did,” stated head coach Dave Calloway.

Trailing 65-62, Travis Taylor's traditional three-point play knotted the score with 3:28 left, before Robby Ptacek's jump shot reclaimed a 67-65 edge for the Blue Devils.

“Travis and Will kept us in the game offensively,” said Calloway. “Down the stretch, we got the defensive stops that we needed.”

Will Campbell, who was 9-for-9 from the free throw line, and Taylor each scored 20 points to pace the Hawks, who connected on 44.8% from the floor in the game.

After neither team held more than a two-point edge in the opening six-plus minutes, CCSU grabbed an 11-8 lead with 13:19 showing on Tamir Johnson's three-point play, and pushed the lead to 14-8 when Ken Horton drained a wing trifecta with 12:43 left.

Taylor's offensive rebound and putback pulled the Hawks within 14-10, before the Blue Devils rattled off a 10-0 run, to coral a 24-10 lead, with 11:07 remaining.
Taylor, who scored nine straight points for the Hawks, pulled Monmouth within 26-17, and Dutch Gaitley's offensive board and layup, made the score 26-19, with 7:40 on the clock.

CCSU pushed its advantage back to double-digits with 3:51 remaining, 32-21, when Aaron Hall snagged a loose ball near midcourt and connected on a fast break layup. The Hawks answered with a Nick DelTufo basket in the paint, and Campbell's wing three-pointer, to trim the lead to 32-26 with 2:44 left until the half.

Trailing 34-27, the Hawks stopped CCSU's shot attempt with 5.8 ticks on the clock, and DelTufo tipped the ball out to a streaking Campbell, who dropped in a layup with 1.1 seconds left and was fouled. Campbell's three-point play made the score 34-30 at the break.

The Blue Devils answered Campbell's three-point play at the end of the first half with one of its own to reclaim a 37-30. David Simmons, who scored CCSU's first eight points of the second half, gave the Blue Devils a 42-34 lead with 16:40 remaining in the contest.

After Simmons' second three-point play of the stanza gave CCSU a 47-36 lead with 14:43 showing, the Hawks responded with a 10-2 spurt, behind George Barbour's three-point play, an Nunner corner trey and layups from Campbell and DelTufo, to pull within 49-46, with 12:15 showing.

Off an inbounds play, Nunner drained a wing trifecta, with 10:34 on the clock, to trim the CCSU lead to 53-49, and Taylor's post move pulled the Hawks within 53-51, 35 seconds later.

The Hawks, trailing 55-53 after Nunner's reverse layup with 8:19 left, climbed within one, 56-55, on James Hett's layin off a feed from Taylor, with 7:13 left.

Monmouth pulled even at 60-60, with 4:57 remaining, when Nunner drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key, before Central's Shemik Thompson answered with a three of his own, 22 ticks later, giving the Blue Devils a 63-60 edge.

DelTufo added six points and seven rebounds for the Hawks, while Hett dished out seven assists and hauled in four boards, as Monmouth had just three turnovers in the second half.

With Fairleigh Dickinson's loss to Long Island, Monmouth needs a victory over Wagner on Saturday, coupled with an FDU loss at Saint Francis (Pa.), to secure a Northeast Conference Tournament berth.

Monmouth (8-22, 6-11) returns to action on Saturday, February 28, when the Hawks host Wagner in the final game in Boylan Gym. Tip-off for the MSG-televised, Northeast Conference contest is set for 12:02 p.m.