WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. ? Monmouth fell to Wagner 91-60 in Northeast Conference men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon, in the final game in Boylan Gymnasium. The Hawks, who were led offensively by the freshmen trio of Will Campbell, Mike Myers Keitt and Travis Taylor, fall out of postseason contention with the loss, and end the season at 8-23 and 6-12 in the NEC.
Campbell, who notched his fourth straight 20-point outing, led Monmouth with 21 points, while Myers Keitt (12) and Taylor (11) rounded the double-figure scorers for the Blue and White.
Monmouth fell behind 9-2 out of the gate, but trimmed the lead to 9-8 with 16:05 showing after back-to-back three-pointers from Campbell and Myers Keitt.
Wagner, which opened the contest hitting seven of its first nine three-point attempts, pushed the lead to 21-12 with 13:04 showing, and led 29-21 at the 8:18 mark. Monmouth answered with an 8-2 run to pull within 31-29 with 5:41 left, on a Myers Keitt drive.
The Seahawks responded with 10-3 spurt to end the half to coral a 41-32 advantage at the break, as Wagner registered 24 points of Monmouth turnovers.
After Wagner pushed its edge to 43-32 out of the intermission, before the Hawks cut into the lead with four free throws, making the score 43-36, with 17:08 on the clock.
Holding a 48-38 lead with 15:21 showing, the Seahawks received three straight trifectas from Chris Martin, to hold a 57-44 lead with 13:11 left in the game. Wagner inflated the lead to 20 points, 68-48, with 8:17 left, but a Taylor dunk, followed by three Campbell free throws, pulled Monmouth within 71-53, with 6:17 showing.
Joey Mundweiler's eleventh trey of the game, with1:39 remaining, gave the Seahawks an 87-60 advantage.
Wagner, which hit a school-record 17 three-pointers, was led by Mundweiler's NEC record 11 trifectas, and a career-high 39 points. The Seahawks, who hit 60.7% from beyond the arc (17-of-28), clinched an NEC Tournament berth with the victory, their fourth straight win.
Campbell, who scored in double-figures in each of his last 11 games of the season, went 10-for-12 from the free throw line, while Taylor, who notched his team-leading 23rd double-digit outing, connected on 4-for-9 from the floor. Myers Keitt added 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists for the Blue and White. Playing in their last career games for the Hawks were seniors Alex Nunner and Shawn Barlow.
Monmouth's three freshmen end the year as the Hawks' top three scorers, which marks the first time in program history the team has been led offensively by three rookies.
Monmouth, which has called Boylan Gym it home since 1965, will play all of its home games in the new, on campus, $57 million Multi-Purpose Activity Center, in the 2009-10 season.
