PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Despite holding a 10-point first half lead, the Monmouth University men's basketball team fell at Rutgers 81-66 on Monday night in the RAC. The Hawks, who trailed 37-35 with 17:00 minutes left, fall to 2-9 on the season, after being outscored 44-31 over the final 17 minutes of action.

Monmouth, which had every player that played add to the team's point tally, was led by senior Will Campbell's 13 points off the bench, while Jesse Steele added nine points. Marcus Ware chipped in eight points, while Dion Nesmith and Andrew Nicholas added seven each.

"I'm proud of our kids, but we need to stop fouling so much," stated head coach King Rice. "I think we are getting better. We really moved the ball well in the first half and gave them problems guarding us. Then Rutgers did a great job of ramping it up and giving us problems."

Steele's corner three-pointer gave the Hawks a 4-2 lead and after a pair of free throws knotted the game at 4-4, Monmouth answered with the next seven points, capped by Steele's elbow jumper to put the Blue and White ahead 11-4 with 13:08 remaining in the half.

Behind back-to-back baskets from Ed Waite, the Hawks, who opened the game shooting 6-for-10, grabbed a 17-7 advantage with 10:12 on the clock.

The Scarlet Knights climbed within 17-15 after consecutive three-pointers from Eli Carter, but Campbell's wing trey answered for MU at 6:05, as the Hawks claimed a 20-15 edge.

Rutgers responded with a 7-0 spurt in the next minute of action to take a 22-20 lead on Mike Poole's three-pointer with 4:14 showing, before Nicholas' baseline floater tied the game at 22-22 with 3:48 remaining until the break.

A pair of free throws for each side kept the game knotted at 24-24 after Mike Myers Keitt hit two foul shots with 2:51 left, and Phill Wait's traditional three-point play kept the game even at 27-27 with 1:23 left. Rutgers answered with a Carter three-point play with 35 seconds left on the clock to hold a 30-27 lead at the intermission.

Rutgers opened the second half with a 7-3 run to take a 37-30 advantage with 18:06 on the board, but a three-pointer from Nesmith and a Ware lay-in pulled the Hawks within 37-35 with 17:00 left.

The Scarlet Knights then answered with a 15-2 spurt, over 3:41 of action to go ahead 52-37, with 12:40 remaining.

Monmouth answered with six straight points, including a pair of jumpers from Ware and an Austin Tillotson layup off a turnover, to pull the Hawks within 52-43, with 10:59 showing.

RU tallied the next five points to push its lead to 57-43, before Campbell's corner three-pointer made the score 57-46 at 9:01.

After a pair of Ware free throws made the score 59-48 with 7:21 showing, Rutgers answered with a 14-2 run to take a 73-50 advantage with 4:01 on the clock.

RU grabbed a 23-point edge following a pair of free throws by Miller, 75-52, before a Campbell three-pointer and a Mykel Harris baseline drive for a dunk, made the score 76-59 with 1:54 left.

Max DiLeo's wing three-pointer accounted for the final 81-66 tally as the freshman drilled a trifecta with six seconds left.

Monmouth connected on 37.9% from the field (22-58), including 44.4% in the second half. The Hawks, who held their own on the boards, trailing 38-35, attempted 24 three-pointers, while going 15-for-20 from the foul line.

The Scarlet Knights (5-5) had five players in double-figures, led by Carter's game-high 21 points. Miller added a 13-point, 11-rebound, seven-block night for RU.

After a 10-day layoff for final exams, Monmouth returns to action on Thursday, December 22 when the Hawks host Rider in non-conference action in the MAC. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m.