WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - In a game that featured 11 lead changes and four ties, Rutgers road a late 18-2 run to outlast Monmouth 79-56 in non-conference action on Saturday night, in the MAC. Monmouth, which was paced by R.J. Rutledge's season-high tying 17 points, behind a career-best five three pointers, falls to 4-7 overall.

Rutledge, who posted a team-best 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, added a team-high six rebounds to lead three Hawks in double-figures. Ed Waite, who went 5-for-5 from the foul line, added 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Nick DelTufo chipped in 11 points, and James Hett registered seven assists.

Monmouth, which led 41-40 with 16:20 remaining in the game, and pulled even at 44-44 with 14:56 showing, succumbed to a 35-12 run by the Scarlet Knights over the final 14 minutes of action.

After Monmouth opened the scoring on DelTufo's post move, the Scarlet Knights answered with eight straight points, including a pair of three-pointers, to take an 8-2 lead at the 17:45 mark. Trailing by six, Monmouth scored eight straight, capped by back-to-back threes from Rutledge and Gary Cox, to reclaim a 10-8 advantage with 15:04 remaining.

Rutgers notched the next six points, which included two buckets from Gilvydas Biruta, to take a 14-10 edge with 12:40 showing, but Rutledge's second trey pushed the Hawks in front 15-14 with 11:03 showing.

The two sides traded leads over the next minute, before Will Campbell's trifecta gave the Hawks a 20-18 lead with 9:40 on the board, while Jordan Davis' trey put MU in front 23-20 with 7:41 left in the half.

The Knights responded with a 9-0 spurt over the next 2:39 of action, to snare a 29-23 advantage, before a Rutledge three-pointer trimmed the deficit to 29-26 with 4:21 left.

Rutledge tied his career-best with his fourth three-pointer to pull Monmouth within 31-29 at 3:12, and a pair of DelTufo foul shots made the score 33-31 with 2:51 remaining.

RU's Austin Carroll connected on a wing three-pointer to put the Knights ahead 36-31, 38 ticks later, and Rutgers rode a 37-31 lead into the break.

Rutgers extended its lead 12 seconds out of the intermission to 39-31, but Monmouth rattled off a 10-0 run over the next 2:40 to grab a 41-39 edge, as Rutledge's back-door cut into a layup, capped the spurt.

The Scarlet Knights notched the next five points to reclaim a 44-41 advantage, before DelTufo drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key to knot the score at 44-44 with 14:56 remaining. With the game tied for the fourth time, RU put together an 8-0 run to snare a 52-44 lead with 12:14 left.

After Campbell's fast break lay-in following a Waite steal, RU scored nine straight to take a 61-46 lead and the 9:00 mark. Waite halted the Knights' run with a traditional three-point play, and Rutledge trimmed the lead to 61-52 with a corner three-pointer with 8:21 showing.

The Hawks' 8-0 spurt, which culminated in two Waite foul shots, carried Monmouth within 61-54, but Mike Coburn recorded the next five points to reclaim a double-digit lead for RU, 66-54, with 6:34 left. Despite another Waite drive, the Knights extended their run to 18-2 to carry a 79-56 lead until the final horn.

Rutgers (8-2), which outrebounded the Hawks 43-26, had four players in double-figures led by Coburn's 18 points and four assists.

Monmouth returns to action on Wednesday, December 22 when the Hawks host No. 10/11 Villanova in the MAC at 7:00 p.m.