WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Monmouth University fell in its 2010-11 season opener, 51-49, to defending America East Conference regular season champion Stony Brook on Tuesday morning, as part of ESPN's Tip-Off Marathon, in the MAC. Monmouth, which got offensive production from all 11 players, had its game-tying attempt fall off the rim as time expired in the season-opening defeat.

Monmouth, which had no player notch double-figures in the scoring column, was paced by junior Will Campbell's nine points, while junior Mike Myers Keitt added eight points. Sophomore Ed Waite chipped in five points and a game-high 13 rebounds for the Hawks.

Stony Brook, an NIT squad last year, outscored the Hawks 5-0 in the final 1:08, and reclaimed the lead 50-49 on a pair of Chris Martin free throws with 23.5 seconds left. Trailing by one, the Hawks moved the ball around for a three-point attempt from R.J. Rutledge, but the Seawolves corralled the miss, and Bryan Dougher was able to hit a foul shot for a two-point lead. Following the miss, the Hawks raced down court, but Marcus Ware's attempt from the top of the key fell off the rim.

"I thought we played hard, and well defensively," stated head coach Dave Calloway. "We did make some mistakes down the stretch, but they are all correctable things that we will work on, and continue to get better."

Back-to-back layups from James Hett and Waite gave Monmouth its first lead of the game, 4-2, just 2:10 into the contest, and the Hawks pushed their lead to 8-4, following consecutive baskets from Phil Wait and Myers Keitt with 14:58 showing.

The Seawolves then scored five of the game's next six points to knot the score at 9-9 on Dave Coley's short runner, and SBU claimed its first lead since 2-0 on Chris Martin's free throw with 7:26 left in the half.

SBU's lead was short-lived when Campbell dropped in a fast break layup off a feed from Waite, off a Seawolves' turnover, as the Hawks grabbed a 13-12 advantage with 6:51 on the clock.

The two sides traded leads over the next two minutes before a pair of Gary Cox free throws moved Monmouth in front 17-14 with 4:51 remaining until the break. After Coley drilled another short jumper for SBU, Myers Keitt dropped in a post hoop, and Cox raced for a layup following a steal to push the Hawks ahead 21-16 with 3:29 left.

Jordan Davis' drive down the middle gave Monmouth its largest lead of the half, 23-16, with 2:14 showing, but a pair of lay-ins from Al Rapier, including one with 4.0 ticks remaining, made the score 24-20 at the half.

After the two teams combined to 0-for-15 from three-point range in the opening stanza, each side drained a trey out of the break, as SBU's leading scorer Bryan Dougher connected from deep for his first points of the contest, and Myers Keitt answered for a 27-23 MU edge with 18:21 showing. The Hawks pushed their lead to 29-23, just 32 seconds later on Campbell's offensive putback.

Monmouth increased its run out of the break to 9-3 when Campbell drilled a trifecta off a feed from Hett in transition, to claim its largest lead of the game, 32-23, with 15:35 left.

The Blue and White secured a double-digit lead with 13:57 remaining when Davis found Ware for a basket off an inbounds play and a 34-23 advantage.

The Seawolves answered by scoring the next nine points, over the next 2:05 of action, to trim the Monmouth lead to 34-32 following back-to-back Rapier layups.

Clinging to a two-point advantage, Monmouth answered with a quick 5-0 spurt to coral a 39-32 lead with 11:05 left on Rutledge's traditional three-point play. After SBU pulled within 39-34 on Martin's baseline drive, MU inflated the lead back to nine, 43-34, on Ware's follow dunk and a pair of Campbell free throws.

Dougher's deep three and Dallis Joyner's short jumper in the lane, combined with a pair of Martin foul shots, allowed the Seawolves to climb within 43-41 with 6:12 left, before Waite stopped the run with a free throw with 5:08 remaining.

SBU upped its run to 10-1 on Anthony Mayo's three-point play with 4:06 showing to knot the score at 44-44, but Monmouth reclaimed a 46-44 lead on Wait's short baseline jump shot, 22 ticks later.

After an empty Monmouth possession, Martin drained a jumper in front of the SBU bench to tie the game at 46-46 with 1:44 left.

On the ensuing possession, Hett tossed a skip pass to Rutledge who attempted a three-pointer, but corralled his own miss, and turned it into a three-point play, and a 49-46 edge for the Hawks with 1:15 showing.

Out of a timeout, Dougher dropped in a floater to pull the Seawolves within 49-48 with 1:08 on the clock, and after a Monmouth turnover, Martin was fouled on the offensive rebound. With SBU in the double-bonus, Martin drained the first foul shot before MU called timeout. Out of the break, Martin hit the second for the one-point lead.

Monmouth, which connected on 13-of-16 from the free throw line, hit 29.8% from the field for the game, but held a 44-41 advantage off the glass. Rutledge added six points and five rebounds for the Hawks.

Martin paced the Seawolves with 13 points and five rebounds, while Rapier added 10 points and six boards. Dougher contributed nine points and six caroms, while Joyner hauled in 11 rebounds.

Monmouth will host its second straight defending conference champion, when the Hawks entertain Patriot League Champion Lehigh University on Friday night at 7:00 p.m.