NEW BRITAIN, CONN. - In its Northeast Conference opener, the Monmouth University men's basketball team rallied from a nine-point second half deficit, but fell 54-50 in overtime at Central Connecticut State University on Saturday afternoon, in Detrick Gym.

The Hawks, who trailed 38-29 with 9:02 left in the game, rallied to tie the score at 40-40 after five straight Ed Waite points five minutes later, and held a 45-41 edge with 1:11 left on Jordan Davis' three-pointer.

Monmouth, which was led offensively by Nick DelTufo's 12 points and Will Campbell's 10 points and career-best tying seven rebounds, connected on just 10-of-20 from the foul line in the game, while CCSU was successful on 19-of-26 from the stripe.

Monmouth, which has opened the 2010-11 season with three straight games decided by four points or less, falls to 1-2, while the Blue Devils, picked fourth the in the NEC preseason poll, improves to 4-1.

At the first media timeout, the Hawks held a 3-2 edge, powered by R.J. Rutledge's three-pointer from the top of the key with 17:49 showing, but Ken Horton's corner trey gave the Blue Devils a 7-4 advantage with 13:23 on the clock.

Monmouth trimmed the lead to 7-6 on a Phil Wait tip-in with 12:46 left, but CCSU responded with a 7-0 spurt, five of which came from Joe Efese, to take a 14-6 lead with 8:06 remaining.

Out of the a timeout, and a defensive stop, the Hawks halted the Blue Devils' run when Mike Myers Keitt found DelTufo for a layup, cutting the lead to 14-8 with 7:23 left. A pair of Efese foul shots reclaimed an eight-point lead for the Blue Devils with 6:34 showing, but DelTufo's three-point play with 5:40 remaining made the score 16-11.

Three more free throws for CCSU pushed the Blue Devils back in front 19-11, but after a Campbell layup and a Myers Keitt three-point play off a missed foul shot, allowed Monmouth to climb within 19-16 with 2:22 left in the half.

CC's Vince Rosario drilled a deep three-pointer to give the Blue Devils a six-point lead, before four straight points from Campbell inched Monmouth within 22-20 with 43 seconds left. The Blue Devils, who connected on 8-of-10 from the free throw line in the opening half, grabbed a 24-20 edge at the break on Horton's putback with 17 ticks remaining.

CCSU grabbed a 29-22 edge at 14:47 when De'Angelo Speech connected on a free throw, before Campbell's lay-in after a Jordan Davis still at midcourt, pulled the Hawks within 29-24.

Monmouth climbed within 31-28 with 12:14 showing following single free throws from Rutledge and a Rutledge drive, but Thompson's deep three-pointer 24 seconds later put CCSU back ahead 34-28.

The Blue Devils tied their largest lead of eight points with 10:33 left when Horton drilled a three-pointer with one second left on the shot clock, to put CC ahead 37-29. CCSU increased its lead to 38-29 on a Markeys Deans foul shot, but Monmouth climbed within 38-32 with 8:16 showing when Marcus Ware, following a made free throw, corralled the miss on his second and laid it back in for the Hawks.

Following a nearly three-minute scoreless drought for both sides, DelTufo drained a three-pointer from the top of the key to start a 10-2 spurt for the Hawks, as Monmouth grabbed a 42-40 lead with 3:47 left in the game. In the run, Waite connected on a corner three, and a layup and DelTufo's lay-in following a CCSU turnover gave the Hawks their first lead since the 17:49 mark in the first half, when MU lead 3-2.

Thompson's free throw trimmed the MU lead to 42-41 with 1:38 left, but on the next possession, Jordan Davis connected on wing three-pointer to put the Hawks ahead 45-41 with 1:11 showing.

Rosario answered with a trey of his own for CCSU to make the score 45-44 with 48.6 seconds left, and after an empty possession for the Hawks in which MU had two chances, Waite fouled Efese in the act of shooting. With 5.4 ticks showing, Efese hit the first free throw, and the Hawks corralled the miss on the second with 1.6 seconds left.

Inbounding in front of the CCSU bench with 1.6 showing, Monmouth missed a chance as Campbell's three-point attempt sailed just wide.

CCSU grabbed an early edge just 16 seconds into the extra session on Efese's three-point play, and held a 50-46 advantage on a pair of Thompson free throws with 3:47 left.

Monmouth rallied to knot the score at 50-50 behind Davis' layup and Campbell's pull-up jumper in transition, with 2:40 showing. Thompson's foul shot reclaimed the lead for the Blue Devils with 1:51 showing, and after a turnover, CCSU increased its lead to 54-50 on Deans' three-point play with 27.2 ticks showing.

Monmouth, which forced 25 Blue Devil turnovers, connected on 29.5% from the field (18-61), while holding CCSU to just a 30.0% (15-50) success rate.

Efese led three CCSU players in double-figures with 15 points, while Deans added 12, and Thompson 11. Horton chipped in nine points and 14 rebounds.

Monmouth returns to action on Monday night, when the Hawks visit Davidson College in a non-conference contest in North Carolina, at 7:00 p.m.