BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y. - In a tie game with 4.6 seconds left, sophomore Will Campbell connected on a pair of free throws to lift Monmouth University to a 51-49 victory at St. Francis in Northeast Conference action on Thursday night. The Hawks, who dodged two Terrier attempts at the rim in the final seconds, improve to 12-15 overall and 8-7 in the league.
The Hawks, who vaulted themselves into a tie for fifth place in the conference standings with the victory, were paced by Travis Taylor's 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. Justin Sofman, who went 4-for-8 from beyond the arc, added 14 points off the bench and Campbell chipped in 10 points.
Following Campbell's two free throws with 4.6 ticks left, SFC inbounded the ball to Ricky Cadell, who raced up the floor and missed a layup, while Akeem Bennett's tip attempt fell off the rim. Bennett's double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds paced the Terriers, while Cadell added 14 points.
Monmouth jumped out to a 7-0 lead as Taylor's three-point play and jumpers from Whitney Coleman and Will Campbell opened the contest for the Hawks. The Blue and White pushed the advantage to 8-0 after a Taylor free throw with 15:02 on the board, and grabbed a 10-0 edge on Taylor's layup at 14:37.
Cadell's three-pointer ended the Terriers' drought to start the game, pulling SFC within 10-3 with 14:09 left, but Taylor's lay-in pushed MU back ahead 12-3, 14 seconds later.
With 13:15 remaining in the opening stanza, both Taylor and Ed Waite, Monmouth's starting front court, were saddled with two fouls apiece, as SFC climbed within 12-4 on a foul shot.
SFC's 10-0 spurt, powered by three Akeem Johnson baskets in the lane, and Stefan Perunicic's corner trifecta, pushed the Terriers ahead 13-12 with 8:58 remaining.
Monmouth reclaimed the lead, 15-13, on the next trip down the floor on Coleman's trey, but SFC knotted the score with 7:47 left on Herman Wrice's lay-in.
After Taylor was whistled for his third foul - his second on the offensive end - Monmouth grabbed an 18-15 advantage on Sofman's three-pointer from the wing, with 6:32 left until the break.
The Terriers answered with the next five points, including Cadell's second three, to take a 20-18 lead with 3:52 showing.
Sofman, who connected on a layup and a corner trifecta in a 27 second span, pushed Monmouth back in front, 23-20 with 2:57 remaining, and the Hawks rode a 10-3 run (eight from Sofman) into the intermission to hold a 28-23 lead at the half.
A pair of three-pointers from Campbell allowed the Hawks to maintain a five-point edge at the first media timeout of the second half, as Monmouth held a 34-29 advantage with 15:28 left in the game. Out of the timeout, Taylor's basket and his dunk on the next possession pushed MU in front 38-29 with 14:29 left.
St. Francis answered with a 9-0 run over 4:36 to knot the score at 38-38 with 9:55 remaining, but the Hawks responded with the next two baskets - a Coleman corner jumper and Taylor's slam - to reclaim a 42-38 cushion with 8:32 on the clock.
After Bennett's lay-in pulled the Terriers within 42-40, Monmouth scored the next five points, including Sofman's fourth three-pointer, to claim a 47-40 lead with 5:25 remaining in the game.
Perunicic's deep three-pointer from the far wing trimmed Monmouth's lead to 47-43, but the Terriers failed on an opportunity to pull within one point when Bennett hit just one of three foul shots with 3:21 left, making the score 47-44.
The two sides exchanged baskets on the ensuing trips, but after a Monmouth miss with 1:50 left, SFC tied the score at 49-49 with 1:21 on the clock when Cadell drilled a corner three-pointer over an outstretched Dutch Gaitley in front of the Terrier bench.
Monmouth, which missed a chance to go-ahead on Campbell's three-point attempt with just under a minute left, forced a SFC turnover with 28 seconds left in the game. With time running off the clock, James Hett drilled to the corner and Monmouth used its last timeout with 9.2 ticks left.
Monmouth delivered the inbounds pass to Campbell, who drove to the basket and was fouled with 4.6 seconds left in regulation. Campbell, a 78.0% free throw shooter on the season, who had not yet attempted a free throw in the game, went 2-for-2 to push the Hawks in front, while Cadell's layup with 1.0 second left and Bennett's tip both fell of the rim.
Gaitley hauled in nine rebounds for the Hawks, who were outrebounded 34-30 in the game.
SFC, which entered the game in a tie with the Hawks in the NEC standings, fell to 10-16 overall and 7-8 in the league.
Monmouth returns to action on Saturday, February 20, when the Hawks travel to Long Island University for a Northeast Conference contest. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m.
