WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Despite a career-high matching 30 points from sophomore Travis Taylor, the Monmouth University men's basketball team dropped a 68-63 decision to visiting Sacred Heart University in the final Northeast Conference regular season game of the year.

The Hawks, who dropped three straight to close out the regular season, fall into the No. 8 seed in the upcoming Northeast Conference Tournament, and will travel to the top overall seed, and regular season champion, Quinnipiac on Thursday night.

Monmouth, now 12-18 overall and 8-10 in conference play, split the regular season series with the Bobcats, but most recently fell in Hamden on Thursday evening.

Taylor, who connected on 12-of-16 from the floor, tied a career-high with 30 points, while adding four rebounds. Justin Sofman added 14 points in a start, while James Hett chipped in seven assists. Whitney Coleman, playing in his final regular season game for the Hawks, added eight points, three rebounds, three assists and a career-high five steals.

Monmouth opened with back-to-back baskets from Coleman and Taylor to grab a 4-0 edge, while Taylor's post move gave the Hawks a 6-2 lead at 17:12. The Pioneers knotted the game at 6-6 at 16:33 and a quick 5-0 spurt gave SHU a 10-8 lead with 15:27 remaining in the half.

After Sofman's three-pointer from the wing gave MU an 11-10 advantage, consecutive baskets, including a trifecta from Ryan Litke, pushed the Pioneers in front 15-11 with 14:10 on the clock.

Consecutive layups from Taylor and Sofman allowed Monmouth to tie the game at 15-15, but a 10-2 run by the Pioneers pushed SHU ahead 25-17 with 8:00 left.

The Hawks responded with an 8-0 spurt, to tie the score at 25-25, with 5:45 showing, as all four baskets came in the paint, including three from Taylor.

After the third tie of the contest, SHU raced out with an 8-0 run over a 2:15-span to reclaim its largest lead of the stanza, 33-25, with 2:54 left.

Back-to-back layups from Ed Waite and Will Campbell drew Monmouth within 33-29 with 2:09 remaining, but the Pioneers outscored the Hawks 5-1 over the remainder of the half, to coral a 38-30 lead at the intermission.

Monmouth raced out of the break with an 11-2 run, capped by Sofman's baseline drive, to reclaim the lead 41-40 with 16:19 remaining in the game, before Josh Marshall's turnaround jumper along the baseline put SHU back in front 42-41 with 15:52 left.

Marshall's jumper sparked a 7-0 Pioneers run, allowing SHU to grab a 47-41 advantage with 14:13 showing.

Coleman's three-pointer trimmed the lead to 47-46, and Taylor's post move knotted the game at 49-49 with 12:45 on the board, before Marshall's drive corralled a 51-49 edge for SHU at 11:36.

Taylor tied the game at 51-51 with his drive at 8:32, and Monmouth grabbed a 54-51 lead on a Sofman three-pointer in front of the Hawks' bench, after a Coleman steal.

Following a pair of free throws from Taylor, Jerrell Thompson's three-point play tied the contest once again, 56-56, with 4:23 remaining. After another Sofman drive pushed MU ahead 58-56, the Pioneers answered with an 8-1 run to go in front 64-59 with 1:48 left.

Monmouth climbed within 64-61 on Waite's drive down the middle, and after a defensive stop, the Hawks pounded the ball inside to Taylor, whose basket pulled MU within 64-63 with 24.6 ticks left.

After a pair of timeouts called - one by each side - Coleman nearly stole the inbounds pass, but SHU reclaimed possession with 22.5 left. Taking the ball out under the MU basket, Steve Zazuri launched a pass down court to Chauncey Hardy, who escaped Hett's pressure for a break away dunk, pushing SHU ahead 66-63 with 19.4 seconds left.

On the next possession, Coleman missed a wing three-point attempt with 11.0 seconds left to tie the game.

After a Monmouth foul, and another near steal, the Hawks fouled with 5.1 seconds left. The Pioneers, who missed the front end of two one-and-ones, but got the offensive rebounds, went ahead 68-63 with 1.5 seconds left on a pair of Liam Potter free throws.

SHU's starting five all scored in double-figures, led by Litke's 16 points, while Potter added 12 points and eight rebounds, and Thompson chipped in 12 points, seven boards and seven assists.

The Pioneers, who fell out of postseason contention with a loss on Thursday night, connected on 50.9% from the field, while Monmouth shot 49.1%.