DAVIDSON, N.C. - Monmouth University dropped a 69-53 non-conference decision at Davidson in men's collegiate basketball action, on Monday night in Belk Arena. Monmouth, which was paced by Ed Waite's team-high 15 points and eight rebounds, falls to 1-3 on the season, while the Wildcats, just two seasons removed from an NCAA Elite Eight appearance, even their record at 3-3 on the year.
"We played hard in a really good environment tonight," said head coach Dave Calloway. "We need to be more efficient, work hard and learn from this."
Following Waite's lay-up, Monmouth took a 5-2 lead when Waite found James Hett on the opposite wing for a three-pointer with 17:48 left. Davidson answered with the next five points to grab a 7-5 edge and corralled an 11-7 advantage on Clint Mann's lay-in.
Monmouth climbed within 11-10 on R.J. Rutledge's three-point play and five straight from Will Campbell, including a go-ahead trey, put the Hawks ahead 15-13 with 11:08 showing.
After four consecutive points by Jordan Downing gave Davidson a 17-15 lead, Waite connected on the next five for Monmouth to push the Hawks in front 20-17 with 9:06 left. The Wildcats answered with back-to-back baskets from Jake Cohen to reclaim a 21-20 advantage with 8:36 left.
Davidson upped its run to 9-1 to take a 26-21 lead, before Gary Cox drilled a jumper in the lane, but the Wildcats increased the spurt to 15-5 and hauled in a 32-25 edge on Brendan McKillop's third three-pointer of the half.
The Wildcats, who outscored the Hawks 20-6 over a 7:06-span, grabbed an 11-point lead, 37-26, with 1:49 left, before Jordan Davis' three-pointer with 1:16 on the board made the score 37-29. Davidson's 22-9 run over the final nine minutes of the stanza allowed the Wildcats to hold a 39-29 lead at the break.
After Davidson took a 12-point lead out of the half, Monmouth trimmed the deficit in half with three straight drives by Mike Myers Keitt, Waite and Rutledge, to make the score 41-35 with 17:44 remaining.
Following a pair of Campbell free throws to make the score 43-37, the Wildcats answered with a 12-1 in just under three minutes to up their advantage to 55-38 with 12:33 left.
Monmouth responded with the next five points, including a Waite drive and Nick DelTufo's three-pointer from the top of the key to make the score 55-43 with 9:44 remaining. Behind a pair of defensive stops, Monmouth climbed within 55-47, capping a 9-0 run, with 8:59 showing as Campbell registered a steal at midcourt and drove to the basket.
Davidson stopped Monmouth's run behind a pair of technical foul shots, and the Wildcats ended the contest on a 14-6 run to coral the 69-53 victory.
Davidson, in its home opener of the season, connected on 44.4% from the floor and hit eight three-pointers, while Monmouth shot 35.8% from the field and went 5-for-13 from beyond the arc.
Waite added three assists and two steals as well for the Hawks, while Campbell chipped in 12 points and four rebounds.
McKillop, who went 5-for-10 from three-point range, scored a game-high 17 points to lead three Wildcats in double-digits. JP Kuhlman added 11 points and six assists, while Cohen nearly missed a double-double with 10 points and nine boards.
Monmouth returns to action on Friday, December 3, when the Hawks open play in the Basketball Travelers Invitational at the University of Idaho. In its first game, Monmouth faces Eastern Michigan in a first-time meeting, at 8:30 p.m. (ET), in Memorial Gym.
