MOSCOW, IDAHO - Paced by a game-high 17 points from junior Will Campbell, the Monmouth University men's basketball team held on for a 57-52 victory over North Dakota in its final game of the Basketball Travelers Classic in Memorial Gym on Sunday afternoon. Monmouth, which went 2-1 in the BTC, also got a season-best 12 points, on 5-of-6 shooting from Jordan Davis, while Mike Myers Keitt added his third straight double-digit outing with 11 points.

The Hawks, who led by as many as 17 points, 44-27 with 11:55 left in the game, held off a UND rally, as the Fighting Sioux climbed within 54-52 with 56.1 seconds remaining. Holding on to a two-point lead with under a minute, Davis connected on a runner in the lane to make the score 56-52, while a Campbell free throw with 5.5 seconds showing, accounted for the final tally.

"This was a good win for us," stated head coach Dave Calloway. "We played really well for about 30 minutes, and we hung in there in the end."

Monmouth held an early 5-3 lead after a Myers Keitt three-pointer opened the game and single free throws from Ed Waite and Nick DelTufo, but Spencer Goodman's second three put UND ahead 6-5 at 16:58. The Hawks reclaimed a lead behind Campbell's lay-in, which sparked a 13-0 MU run, and gave the Blue and White a 18-6 lead with 10:02 left.

Goodman's third trifecta ended MU's run, before a post basket from Myers Keitt increased the Hawks' advantage to 20-9 with 9:19 on the clock.

UND, which opened the game with four three-pointers, climbed within 20-12 at 8:59 on Patrick Mithchell's trey, but a traditional three-point play from Myers Keitt inflated the Hawks' lead to 25-14 with 7:12 remaining.

UND's fifth three-pointer of the half trimmed the Monmouth advantage to 26-17 with 4:40 showing, but the Hawks reclaimed a 12-point lead on Davis' wing trey with 2:59 left. Following Monmouth's second 12-point advantage, the Fighting Sioux ended the stanza on a 6-0 spurt, to climb within 29-23 at the break.

Monmouth reclaimed a double-digit lead, 35-25, after a pair of Waite free throws, and pushed the edge to 37-25 behind an 8-2 spurt out of the locker room, with 15:28 remaining in the game. Campbell, who scored eight of the Hawks' nine points in a stretch, put MU in front 44-27 with his jumper in the lane, with 11:55 left.

After the Hawks grabbed a 17-point advantage, the Fighting Sioux answered with a 13-2 run over a 4:14 span, to pull within 46-40, capped by Josh Schuler's three-pointer, with 7:41 on the clock.

Five straight points from Davis, including a three-pointer from the top of the key with 5:52 showing, gave Monmouth a 51-40 lead, but an 8-2 spurt, including a pair of treys, allowing UND to climb within 53-48, 2:20 later.

UND increased its run to 10-2 when Derek Benter dropped in a fast break layup, pulling the Fighting Sioux within 53-50, but a single free throw from Waite put the Hawks ahead 54-50 with 1:45 left.

After an empty possession for UND, the Fighting Sioux forced a turnover which led to a pair of Derek Benter free throws. Benter, who connected on both, pulled UND within 54-52, but on the next trip down the court, Davis hit the runner in the lane with 23.0 seconds left to reclaim a two-possession lead for the Hawks.

Monmouth, now 3-4 on the season, shot 47.7% from the field in the game, but connected on just 11-of-20 from the free throw line.
UND had a pair in double-figures, as Schuler and Benter added 10 points apiece, while the Fighting Sioux hit 8-of-21 from beyond the arc.

Monmouth returns to action on Wednesday, December 8 when the Hawks return home to host Princeton University at 7:00 p.m., in the MAC.

Basketball Travelers Classic All-Tournament Team:

Most Outstanding Player: Deremy Geiger, Idaho

Brandon Bowdry, Eastern Michigan
Will Campbell, Monmouth
Patrick Mitchell, North Dakota
Mike Myers Keitt, Monmouth
Luiz Toledo, Idaho