WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Powered by sophomore
Travis Taylor's career-high 30 points, Monmouth earned a 76-67 Northeast Conference victory over Wagner on Saturday night. Taylor, who also connected on a career-best 14-of-18 from the foul line, paced a trio of Hawks in double-figures as Monmouth improved to 11-15 overall and 7-7 in the NEC.
Taylor, who notched Monmouth's first 30-point outing since Jhamar Youngblood's 31 points in February 2007, went 8-for-16 from the floor, while adding eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal, in his 21st straight game in double-figures.
Will Campbell, who went 8-for-8 from the foul line, added 16 points and a career-best seven rebounds, while
Ed Waite (7-for-10 FG) added 15 points and seven boards.
After Doug Elwell's three-pointer opened the scoring,
Whitney Coleman's five straight started a 13-0 Monmouth spurt, as the Hawks grabbed a 13-3 advantage with 13:18 remaining in the half, on Waite's second layup off feeds from Taylor.
Three consecutive three-pointers from Danny Mundweiler, sandwiched around a pair of baskets from Taylor, allowed the Seahawks to climb within 19-14 with 8:38 left. Taylor, who was responsible for seven straight points for the Hawks, pushed Monmouth ahead 22-16 on a free throw, while Coleman's trey lifted the Hawks to a 25-16 edge with 6:44 left until the break.
Following a driving basket from Campbell, which gave MU a 27-19 lead, Wagner pulled within 27-23 on a pair of free throws with 4:49 remaining.
The Seahawks pulled within 29-25 with 3:38 on the clock, but Campbell's wing three-pointer, coupled with a pair of Taylor foul shots gave Monmouth a 34-25 edge a minute later, and the Hawks corralled a 40-28 advantage at the intermission on
Mike Myers Keitt's offensive putback with 1.5 ticks on the clock.
Monmouth, which netted its second-highest first half point total, raced out to a 15-point advantage, 47-32, with 17:03 remaining after back-to-back
James Hett steals, which led to a pair of layups for the Hawks.
The Hawks inflated the lead to 54-35 behind seven straight from Taylor, which included a pair of three-point plays, and Monmouth repeated its 19-point edge with 13:28 remaining on a pair of Myers Keitt free throws.
After Waite's three-point play put MU ahead 59-41, Mundweiler connected on his fourth trey to make the score 59-44 with 11:55 left.
Following back-to-back layups from Waite, which put the Hawks in front 64-46, the Seahawks strung together an 8-1 run, which included a pair of three-pointers, to pull within 65-54 with 8:16 remaining. Wagner advanced its run to 15-3 over a span of just under five minutes, to claw within 67-61 with 4:54 showing on Garrett Contance's corner trifecta.
Taylor's layup with 4:30 left ended Wagner's spurt, pushing Monmouth ahead 69-61, and Taylor's dunk capped a quick 5-1 spurt which reclaimed a double-digit lead, 72-62, with 2:45 left.
Monmouth, which shot 48.9% from the field, held a 35-27 rebound advantage and connected on 26-of-31 from the charity stripe.
Wagner, which fell to 4-23 overall and 2-12 in the league, was led by Mundweiler's 14 points on 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. Tyler Murray added 13 points, while Constance added 12.
Monmouth, now 8-5 at home, returns to action on Thursday, February 18, when the Hawks travel to Brooklyn Heights, New York for a Northeast Conference contest at St. Francis. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
POSTGAME TRANSCRIPTS
2/13/10 VS. WAGNER
MONMOUTH HEAD COACH DAVE CALLOWAY
Opening Remarks:
"It is nice to get a win at home. We've given up two recently, so it was nice to have a win. We only took nine three's and we got to the foul line and made our shots."
MONMOUTH FORWARD TRAVIS TAYLOR
"It felt real good to be back on the court. Down the stretch, they cut it to six, so we had to bear down on defense. We can surely build off this."
MONMOUTH GUARD WILL CAMPBELL
"I couldn't wait until Travis got back because I knew he was going to be an instant leading scorer for us. I feel like we have our whole team back... things are the way they should be now."
