WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Led by a career-high 23 points from junior forward Gary Cox, the Monmouth University men's basketball team rallied from a 17-point deficit to defeat visiting Hartford, 78-74, in double overtime on Saturday afternoon. In addition to Cox's highlight, center Phil Wait added his first career double-double with 11 points and 16 rebounds, and senior guard James Hett dished out a career-best 10 assists in the win.

"We need to focus on playing with intensity for a full 40 minutes, and compete," stated head coach Dave Calloway, whose Hawks improved to 4-5 on the year. "We started out slow, but to come back and get the win is great."

Cox, who came off the bench to play a career-high 30 minutes, went for a career-best 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 5-for-7 from beyond the arc, and five rebounds to pace the Hawks.

"I know how hard we play defense, so I knew we were still in the game, because we were going to score points," added Cox. "I just wanted to come in and run the offense, and I was able to hit shots."

Calloway added about Cox, "We talk about opportunities all of the time, and this young man took advantage of it today."

Hartford took a 15-0 lead with 8:15 remaining, behind three three-pointers, as Monmouth opened the game going 0-for-16 from the field, which was coupled with seven turnovers. After being held scoreless for the first 12:25, a pair of free throws from Marcus Ware stopped Monmouth's slide, as MU pulled within 15-2 with 7:35 left.

UH upped its advantage to 20-3 on Morgan Sabia's jumper over Wait, before R.J. Rutledge's baseline drive gave Monmouth its first field goal of the game, with 5:38 left, and made the score 20-5.

After Hartford grabbed a 22-5 cushion, Cox pulled the Hawks within 22-10 after his jumper and corner three-pointer with 4:11 remaining in the half. Monmouth continued its surge and put together a 9-0 run, capped by Will Campbell's fast break drive, to make the score 22-14 with 2:55 left.

Hartford, which led by 17 twice in the stanza, responded by outscoring Monmouth 8-3 over the final 2:20 to take a 30-17 advantage at the intermission.

Monmouth, which shot 5-for-28 in the opening half, and recorded a season-low 17 points at the break, hit its first three field goal attempts of the second stanza, while forcing four straight empty possessions for UH, to pull within 30-23 with 17:57 left.

Hartford halted MU's run with a Genesis Maciel three-pointer, but Campbell answered with a corner trey of his own to make the score 33-26 with 16:48 on the clock.

UH's third trifecta of the half pushed the lead to 39-28 with 15:39 remaining, but consecutive offensive rebounds and put-backs allowed MU to climb within 39-32 with 14:19 showing.

Following Hartford's fourth three-pointer of the stanza, Monmouth registered back-to-back Wait hoops off feeds from Hett, to make the score 42-36 with 12:23 left.

Monmouth, which outscored UH 27-14 in the opening 11:30 minutes of the half, knotted the score at 44-44 following consecutive Cox three-pointers with 8:26 remaining. Hartford ended an 8-0 MU spurt on Joe Zeglinski's fourth trey with 7:55 showing, but Campbell answered with a three from the top of the key to tie the game again with 7:02 left.

The Blue and White climbed all the way back and took its first lead of the game, 50-49, on Hett's three-pointer with 5:09 showing, while Ed Waite's foul shot tied the game at 51-51 with 4:07 on the board.

Following Sabia's three-point play with 3:40 left, Monmouth answered with six straight, capped by Jordan Davis' steal and traditional three-point play, to take a 57-54 edge with 2:23 showing.

After Davis' three-point trip, Zeglinski registered a three-point trip as well to re-tie the score at 57-57, and UH retook the lead on a Zeglinski jumper with 1:25 remaining.

Following an empty MU possession at the minute-mark, UH missed an opportunity after running the shot clock all the way down, as Wait hauled in the defensive rebound. On the ensuing trip, Monmouth called timeout with 17.3 seconds left and on the inbounds play, Cox grabbed an offensive rebound on Davis' missed jumper from the elbow.

Cox, who was fouled on the put-back attempt, drilled both foul shots to pull Monmouth even at 59-59 with 6.8 ticks showing.

UH advanced the ball to halfcourt and called timeout with 3.7 seconds left and after Maciel's jump shot came off the rim, Milton Burton's game-winning tip follow rolled off the rim, sending the game to overtime.

Two Cox three-pointers, combined with a Campbell free throw, gave Monmouth a 66-62 lead with 2:50 left, but another Zeglinski three and two foul shots knotted the game at 67-67 with 1:49 showing.

After two free throw misses from Wait with 1:19 left, Hartford had three possessions to go ahead, but after a final stop Monmouth was unable to win on its trip, forcing a second extra session.

Cox opened the scoring in the second overtime with a layup, while Rutledge's baseline jumper gave Monmouth a 71-69 edge with 3:30 showing. Following a pair of offensive rebounds for the Hawks, Wait dropped in a put back to put Monmouth in front 73-69 with 1:04 left.

On the next trip, Monmouth forced a UH turnover and Hett was fouled on the inbounds play. With 33.3 ticks left, Hett drilled a free throw to make it a five-point advantage for MU.

After a Zeglinski free throw, Davis connected on a pair of foul shots to put MU in front 76-70 with 24.3 seconds left. On the next trip down, Wait was whistled for a hold, allowing Anthony Minor to pull UH within 76-71. Following Minor's miss on the second chance, Wait was fouled and hit a pair before Zeglinski connected on his seventh trifecta, making the game 78-74, with 4.0 seconds left.

Monmouth, which had four players in double-figures, got double-digit efforts from Campbell (12) and Rutledge (10 points, six rebounds), as well as seven points, four rebounds and four assists from Davis, in his first career start for the Hawks.

MU, which shot 59.3% from the floor in the second half alone in the comeback, hit 5-of-9 from the field in the overtime sessions, and 18-of-30 from the foul line. Hartford, which entered the game as the America East's second-best free throw shooting team, hit just 6-for-18 from the line, as only five UH Hawks scored, led by Zeglinski's 31 points and Burton's double-double of 15 points and 16 rebounds.

Entering the game, 49% of Hartford's overall shot attempts were three-pointers, and UH, which went 27-for-78 overall in the game, hit 14-of-47 treys (60.3% today).

Monmouth, which has had eight of its first nine games decided by five points or less, returns to action on Wednesday, December 15 when the Hawks travel to Rider University for a non-conference game at 7:00 p.m.