LORETTO, PA. - Monmouth extended its season-high win streak to five games, as the Hawks posted a 63-53 road victory at Saint Francis University on Thursday night. The Hawks, who are now 4-1 in the Northeast Conference, improved to 8-9 overall, as Travis Taylor's 20 points led three players in double-figures.

Monmouth, 4-1 in the league for the first time since the 2005-06 season, received 15 points off the bench from Justin Sofman, who went 4-for-8 from beyond the arc, and 13 second-half points from Whitney Coleman.

"Our defense was the difference tonight, and we finally made some shots, which was the changed the game late," stated head coach Dave Calloway. "With Travis on the bench in the second half, we knew we had to make shots, so maybe that relaxed our guards a little."

Back-to-back Taylor baskets in the lane gave Monmouth an early 4-3 advantage, and Will Campbell's backdoor layup, with 15:29 on the clock knotted the score at 6-6. After Will Felder's wing jump shot rattled in for a two-point edge, Taylor dropped in a turn-around jumper in the lane to tie the score at 8-8 with 13:47 remaining.

Monmouth went in front 10-8 as Campbell found an open Dutch Gaitley for an elbow jumper, and the Hawks, off Sofman's scrum for a loose ball, grabbed a 12-8 lead on Taylor's fast break dunk with 9:43 on the clock.

Saint Francis, which Monmouth held scoreless for nearly seven minutes, pulled even at 12-12 on Cedric Lattimer's offensive rebound off an airball, and putback, with 6:27 left.

With the game tied at 14-14 after Devin Sweetney's layup, James Hett found Sofman in the far corner for a three-pointer, giving the Hawks a 17-14 edge with 4:36 showing.

After two more ties in the final three minutes, a pair of free throws by Umar Shannon gave the Red Flash a 21-19 lead with 47.9 ticks left, but Sofman's three-pointer with 26.0 seconds showing gave the Hawks a 22-21 edge at the break.

Following a defensive stop to open the second half, Ed Waite's post move, followed by a Taylor basket, pushed Monmouth ahead 26-21 with 18:25 left in the game.

SFU responded with the next four points to pull within 26-25, and tied the score at 28-28 on a Shannon wing trifecta, with 17:00 left.

Coleman's trey on the next trip, reclaimed a 31-28 cushion for the Hawks, and Taylor's slam with 15:50 showing, put the Blue and White in front 33-30.

After a Nick DelTufo free throw pushed Monmouth in front 34-30, a Hawks' trap of Sweetney in front of the SFU bench, led to a turnover and a Coleman three-pointer, as the Hawks grabbed a 37-30 lead with 13:17 on the board.

With three starters on the bench - with three fouls each - Monmouth extended its lead to 43-30 on Coleman's second straight trey and Sofman's three-point play off a turnover, with 10:58 remaining in the contest.

The Red Flash stopped Monmouth's 12-0 run with a corner three-pointer with one second left on the shot clock, pulling SFU within 43-33 with 10:22 left.

DelTufo connected on an elbow jumper with 9:51 on the clock to push the Hawks ahead 45-33, and Sofman's trey at the top of the key gave Monmouth a 48-34 cushion with 8:00 left.

Consecutive baskets from Anthony Ervin made it a 10-point game, 50-40, with 6:08 left, but Taylor's layup off an inbounds play gave the Hawks a 52-40 lead with 5:40 remaining, while Sofman's fourth trifecta, with 4:16 left, extended the Monmouth lead to 55-40.

Saint Francis (4-12, 2-3 NEC) pulled within single-digits, 55-46, after scoring six straight points, capped by Shannon's three-point play with 2:45 left, but four Waite free throws reclaimed a 59-46 advantage with 1:43 left.

Monmouth, which went 10-for-19 from the free throw line, hit 45.1% from the field for the game, including 43.8% (7-of-16) from three-point range.

Monmouth returns to action on Saturday, January 16, when the Hawks travel to Robert Morris University for a Northeast Conference contest at 7:30 p.m.