WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Monmouth dropped its second straight game in the Garden State Rivalry Series, with a 71-65 loss to Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday afternoon, in Northeast Conference action.
With the loss, Monmouth - now 7-4 at home - fell to 10-14 overall and 6-6 in the NEC, while the Knights, winners of four of their last five, improved to 8-16 and 7-5 in the league.
Monmouth was paced by sophomore Will Campbell's team-high 21 points, while freshman Ed Waite registered his first career double-double with 10 points and career-best 17 rebounds. Waite's rebound-total was the highest in program history since Corey Albano's 20 rebounds against Long Island on February 20, 1997.
With the game tied at 7-7, the Hawks claimed their second three-point early edge when Justin Sofman's wing three-pointer found the bottom of the net at 13:02.
FDU reclaimed a lead at 10:25 after consecutive Alvin Mofunanya elbow jumpers, 11-10, before layups from Campbell and Whitney Coleman pushed the Hawks ahead 14-11 with 8:58 remaining.
After a Sean Baptiste trey knotted the score at 14-14, Campbell drilled a corner trifecta to put MU in front, and the Hawks claimed a 21-16 advantage following Waite's drive and a pair of Campbell foul shots at 6:25.
The Knights rattled off a quick 5-0 spurt to tie the score at 21-21 following Mike Scott's three-point play, but the Hawks responded with consecutive hoops in the lane from Mike Myers Keitt and Waite to coral a 25-21 advantage with 3:47 left in the half. FDU answered with the final seven points of the half, capped by Baptiste's wing three-pointer with 3.0 ticks left, to take a 28-25 lead into the locker room.
Monmouth raced out of the break with a 7-0 run to grab a 32-28 lead on Campbell's jumper off an inbounds play, and a full court drive by James Hett held a 34-30 edge with 16:21 left.
With 15:47 on the clock, Campbell drilled a wing trifecta to put Monmouth in front 37-32, but the Knights notched two straight baskets to pull FDU within 37-36 with 13:50 remaining.
After the Knights climbed within a single point, a pair of free throws from Hett, and foul shot by Coleman and Dutch Gaitley's offensive put-back gave the Hawks their largest lead, 42-36, with 12:17 left in the contest.
FDU answered the Monmouth lead with a 6-1 run, which inflated to a 10-3 spurt over the next four minutes of play, to grab a 46-45 lead - its first lead of the second half, before Campbell's baseline jumper pushed the Hawks back ahead 47-46 with 7:40 left.
With the contest tied at 51-51, following Waite's post move, FDU went up 54-51 on Baptiste's three-point play, but Campbell's 3-of-4 from the line in two trips, knotted the score at 54-54 with 5:02 showing.
After a Mofunanya free throw put FDU ahead 55-54, Coleman's layup off an inbounds play reclaimed the lead for Monmouth, 56-55, with 4:08 on the board.
The Knights responded with a 7-0 run over the next 2:55 to claim a 62-56 lead with 2:13 left and held a 63-58 edge with 1:21 on the clock.
Trailing by five, Justin Sofman drained a three-pointer off a curl to trim the lead to 63-61, with 1:12 left.
DeShawn Dockery, who the Hawks fouled on the ensuing inbounds play, hit one free throw to grab a 64-61 lead for the Knights, but Waite was unable to pull Monmouth closer on the next possession, missing both foul shot opportunities.
With 51.1 ticks left, Mofunanya connected on a pair of foul shots to increase the FDU lead to 66-61, but Waite's layup with 44.7 seconds, pulled MU within 66-63.
FDU made it a four-point game on Scott's free throw, but Campbell drilled a pair of foul shots himself with 34.5 on the clock to pull the Hawks within 67-65.
After Scott canned two free throws to put FDU in front 69-65, Coleman's three-pointer fell short with 17 second left and Baptiste connected on two more foul shots to push the advantage to 71-65 with 14.5 seconds left.
DelTufo posted eight points and six rebounds for Monmouth, while Hett recorded four points, five rebounds and eight assists.
The Hawks, who held a 44-40 advantage off the glass, shot 37.1% for the game, but connected on 14-of-20 from the free throw line.
Baptiste, who recorded 27 points against MU on Thursday night, led three Knights in double-figures with 24 points. Scott added 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while Mofunanya chipped in a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds. Reserve John Galvin added nine points and a season-best nine rebounds off the bench.
Monmouth returns to action on Thursday, February 11, when the Hawks host Mount St. Mary's University in a Northeast Conference contest. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
** Attention Monmouth fans - If you held a ticket from either of today's games against FDU, the Monmouth Athletics Department is offering you the opportunity to redeem your ticket for a free ticket to a future Monmouth home game during the 2009-10 regular season. **
POSTGAME TRANSCRIPTS
2/6/10 VS. FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON
MONMOUTH HEAD COACH DAVE CALLOWAY
Opening Remarks:
"This is a disappointing loss. We make shots in practice, but you've got to step up in the game and make them. We had careless turnovers, and did a lot of things throughout the game to hurt ourselves."
On the end of the game:
"At that point in the game, you need people to step up. Their [FDU's] better players stepped up to make the plays."
FDU HEAD COACH GREG VETRONE
Opening Remarks:
"I said to our guys on the way here, 'Dave Calloway's team is so well coached. If we could keep it close, we had a chance to win."
"If you can get out on the road with a win, it's a big win."
