WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Monmouth University, which opened the second half with a 24-6 run, collected a 69-40 Northeast Conference victory over Saint Francis University on Thursday night. With the victory, Monmouth improved to 9-10 overall and 5-2 in the NEC.
Monmouth, which held a seven-point lead at the half, put together its decisive run over the first 11:11 of the second half. The Hawks, who are now 7-2 at home, had nine different players score at least five points, while the defense held the Red Flash to its second-lowest output of the year.
"Defensively, we were very good tonight," stated head coach Dave Calloway. "Our guys were ready tonight, and without Travis, we can go a little deeper, especially on defense, which will make us better."
Will Campbell and SFU's Devin Sweetney registered eight points each in the opening six minutes, as Campbell's second three-pointer of the stanza, tied the game at 10-10.
The Red Flash grabbed a 15-12 advantage with 11:41 remaining on Cedric Latimer's three-point play, but Justin Sofman's four-point trip at 9:09 claimed a 16-15 edge for the Hawks. Following an SFU turnover, Nick DelTufo's dunk gave Monmouth an 18-15 lead with 8:28 showing.
After Kurt Hoffman's putback trimmed the MU lead to 18-17, the Hawks went on a 7-0 run over the next 2:53 to coral a 25-17 advantage on DelTufo's slam off a feed from Mike Myers Keitt, with 5:04 left.
The Red Flash trimmed the lead to five points, as late as 1:20 on Sorena Orandi's second trey, but Ed Waite, who scored the last five points of the half for the Hawks, dropped in a floater along the baseline to maintain a 32-25 Monmouth lead at the break.
Monmouth inflated its lead to 41-25 out of the intermission as the Hawks opened with a 9-0 spurt in the first 2:50 of the stanza. In the run DelTufo, Waite and James Hett all dropped in baskets, before Whitney Coleman drilled a three-pointer to give the Hawks a 16-point advantage.
After back-to-back three-pointers from R.J. Rutledge and Sofman, Monmouth extended its run to 19-4 in the second half, and grabbed a 51-29 lead with 12:07 on the clock.
Monmouth pushed its advantage to 56-31 after Myers Keitt's three-pointer, and a layup from George Barbour helped the Hawks hold a 58-36 advantage with 5:33 left. MU, which tied its largest victory margin of the season, took the 29-point lead on Barbour's dunk.
The Hawks, who shot 55.0% from the floor in the opening half, went 23-for-51 in the contest (45.1%), while holding SFU to just 26.7% (12-for-45).
Campbell led the Hawks with 12 points, on 5-of-7 shooting, while Sofman chipped in 10 points on a trio of treys. Waite added nine points, while Coleman, Hett and Myers Keitt each totaled seven points.
DelTufo, who finished with a season-best six points, added, "Our offense is clicking and we're playing good defense."
Monmouth returns to action on Saturday, January 23, when the Hawks host Robert Morris University in a televised Northeast Conference contest, in the MAC, at 4:00 p.m.
