WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Monmouth, which received a season-high 21 points from Mike Myers Keitt, fell to Northeast Conference preseason favorite Quinnipiac, 72-70, on a pair of single free throws in the final 14 seconds, in the Multipurpose Activity Center, on Thursday night. Monmouth, which held a 14-point second half advantage, led 70-66 with 2:56 remaining before the final four points of the game were netted from the foul line by the Bobcats.

"We have had a lot of games that have gone that way this year, we came up one possession short," stated head coach Dave Calloway. "We will look at the tape and see that if we make one more play, we win the game."

Myers Keitt, who went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, connected on 7-of-10 from the field for a game-high 21 points, while Ed Waite added 18 points (on 7-of-10 FG) and seven rebounds. Monmouth, which hit 8-of-16 three-point attempts, connected on a season-best 56.8% from the floor.

With the game tied at 70-70 after a pair of James Johnson free throws with 1:54 remaining, Quinnipiac's Jamee Jackson hit a foul shot with 14.3 ticks to give the Bobcats a one-point edge. Following a Quinnipiac timeout, Monmouth's James Hett was fouled on a drive to the basket, with 3.9 seconds left, but was unable to convert. Following the second miss, Dominique Langston hit another single shot, but the Hawks failed on a last-second effort to win the game.

"Whenever you lose a tight game, there are a lot of things you look back on," added Calloway. "There are lots of things we did well and lots of things to work on. Each team had a chance at the end, one missed shot, one turnover, one missed rebound, maybe it goes the other way."

Four points from Phil Wait knotted the score at 4-4 at 17:21, while Marcus Ware's drive to the basket tied the game at 7-7, before Quinnipiac put together a 12-2 run to grab a 19-9 edge with 11:25 showing.

Consecutive three-pointers from Myers Keitt and Jesse Steele pulled Monmouth within 19-15 with 10:24 on the clock, but the Bobcats answered by netting seven of the game's next nine points, to coral a 26-17 lead following back-to-back Ike Azotam baskets.

The Hawks, following a Nick DelTufo wing three-pointer, put together an 18-0 run to claim a 38-28 lead following five straight points from Myers Keitt, with 2:19 remaining in the half. In the run, which spanned four and a half minutes, Myers Keitt dropped in eight and Waite added six points.

Quinnipiac halted the MU spurt on Deontay Twyman's corner three-pointer with 2:05 showing, but baskets from Waite and DelTufo upped the Hawks' advantage to 42-31 with 1:06 on the clock. After four Bobcat points, Waite drilled an elbow jumper with six ticks left to give the Hawks a 44-35 edge at the intermission, Monmouth's largest halftime lead of the season.

Monmouth, which ended the first stanza on a 24-6 run, opened the second half with a pair of defensive stops and took a 47-35 on a Myers Keitt three-pointer, just over a minute into the period. Following a Quinnipiac free throw, Myers Keitt's lay-in put Monmouth ahead 49-36 with18:14 remaining in the contest.

The Hawks, following eight straight points from Myers Keitt, grabbed a 52-38 lead with 16:52 left on the junior's traditional three-point play.

After the Blue and White took a 14-point advantage, the Bobcats responded with a 7-0 spurt, paced by a pair of Jamee Jackson baskets, to pull within 52-45, with 13:55 left.

Steele's corner three-pointer off an inbounds play stopped the QU run, reclaiming a double-digit cushion for Monmouth, but the Bobcats answered with the next five points to climb within 55-50 with 11:20 showing.

Monmouth reclaimed seven-point leads twice on Waite baskets, while Hett's lay-up gave the Hawks a 62-55 advantage with 7:19 remaining.

James Johnson's wing trey for QU made the score 62-58 with 6:31 on the board, and the Bobcats trimmed the lead to 62-61 on Twyman's pull-up jumper with 5:34 left.

Waite and Hett trifectas reclaimed a four-point edge for the Hawks twice over the next 1:30 of action, while DelTufo's lay up put MU in front 70-66 with 2:56 showing, but a pair of James Johnson foul shots with 1:54 on the clock tied the game at 70-70.

Monmouth, which hit 25-of-44 from the field overall, also received nine points from DelTufo, and eight points and four rebounds from Steele. Hett chipped in six points and four assists.

QU (10-3, 2-1 NEC), which outrebounded Monmouth 39-26, had five players in double-figures, led by Jackson's 20 points.

Monmouth (5-10, 1-2 NEC) returns to action on Saturday, January 8, when the Hawks host Sacred Heart in the MAC at 7:00 p.m.