WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - In a pivotal Northeast Conference contest, Monmouth University defeated visiting Saint Francis 57-51, for its third straight victory, on Thursday night. Monmouth, which held SFU to its second-lowest point total of the season, was paced by Jesse Steele's 20 points off the bench, as the sophomore tied a career-high with five three-pointers.

"I felt pretty good at halftime in that we didn't shoot very well in the half and we were up one," stated head coach Dave Calloway. "I thought we played well in the second half, but we had a too many turnovers. We didn't finish off some plays and we have to clean it up for Saturday, but it's a good win for us."

Monmouth, which led by 11 points, 51-40, with 5:34 left in the contest, on R.J. Rutledge's reverse lay-in off a feed from James Hett, held off a late Red Flash surge for the win. Trailing by 11, SFU answered with a 10-2 spurt to pull within 53-50 with 1:03 remaining, but a Marcus Ware turnaround jumper, and a pair of free throws from Steele with 20.2 seconds left, sealed the victory.

When asked about Ware's shot, Calloway added, "It was big because we were up three and made it five and then we got the stops on the defensive end to hold on for the win."

Steele, who went 6-for-12 overall and 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, notched his second career 20-point outing to lead the Hawks, while Mike Myers Keitt added 12 points, four rebounds and two assists. Rutledge added eight points, while Ed Waite chipped in with five points, six rebounds and two assists. Hett added four points, four rebounds, eight assists and three steals, while Ware hauled in eight boards to go along with four points and three steals.

After Saint Francis grabbed an early 3-2 edge, Monmouth claimed an 8-3 lead following back-to-back three-pointrs from Rutledge and Steele, with 16:46 remaining. Consecutive treys from opposite corners by Steele and Myers Keitt pushed the Hawks ahead 16-7 with 12:55 showing, but after a 5:13 scoreless stretch, the Red Flash put together a 6-0 run to climb within 16-13 at 7:42.

Steele's third trey claimed a 19-13 advantage for the Hawks, but SFU rattled off six straight to knot the score at 19-19 on Tony Peters' turnaround jumper with 3:30 showing.

Myers Keitt's dunk off a feed from James Hett ended the SFU spurt, while a pair of free throws from the junior gave the Hawks a 23-19 lead with 2:21 left in the half, but Chris Johnson's three-pointer from the far corner made it a one-point game at the intermission.
Saint Francis, which outscored Monmouth 9-4 over the final 5:21 of the first stanza, opened a 26-23 lead with 17:39 left after Will Felder's three-point play and Umar Shannon's free throw.

Ware's lay-up pulled Monmouth within 26-25 and Steele's four-point play, as he was fouled on a three-point attempt, reclaimed the lead for the Hawks, 29-28, with 16:15 left. Felder's trey put SFU back ahead 31-29, before four straight points from Phil Wait put the Hawks in front 33-31 with 14:52 showing.

With the game tied at 34-34 with 13:08 remaining, the Hawks opened an 8-0 spurt, capped by back-to-back trifectas from Waite and Steele, to haul in a 42-34 lead at the 11:20 mark.

Saint Francis  responded with a 5-0 run in 1:21 to make it a three-point contest, but a Rutledge corner trey off a feed from Hett, gave the Hawks a 45-39 lead with 7:16 left.

Felder's free throw pulled SFU within 45-40, but behind a lay-in from Hett and Steele's theft at midcourt, which led to a layup, the Hawks inflated their lead back to nine, 49-40, with 6:25 showing. Following a defensive stop, Hett found Rutledge for a reverse lay-in and a 51-40 edge at 5:34.

After Monmouth corralled the 11-point edge, SFU responded with six straight to climb within 51-46, but Myers Keitt's elbow jumper with 1:57 remaining, and one second on the shot clock, put the Hawks in front 53-46.

Scott Eatherton's basket, coupled with a pair of Shannon free throws at 1:03, pulled the Red Flash within 53-50, but a Ware turnaround jumper with 35 seconds showing claimed a 55-50 edge for Monmouth.

On the next possession, Shannon's baseline jumper went long and Waite corralled the defensive rebound, before outletting to Steele, who was fouled with 20.2 left. After Steele connected on both end of the one-and-one, giving the Hawks a 57-50 lead, Ervin was fouled on a three-point attempt with 11.2 left, but hit just one, making the score 57-51.

"I think we are getting better and I think this team has been through a lot," concluded Calloway. "They are starting to play better and improve. It is not the same guys that are getting it done either, defensively other teams are starting to focus on the inside and that left the guards open to knock down some big shots tonight. The whole year has been rewarding, we haven't had to worry about motivating them, all we have to do is coach them, and they are doing all the hard work and motivating themselves."

Monmouth, which outrebounded the Red Flash 37-28 and hit 9-of-19 from three-point range, limited SFU to 38.1% from the field, as Shannon collected a team-high 13 points.

Monmouth returns to action on Saturday, when the Hawks host Robert Morris on Senior Night in the MAC. Tip-off is  set for 7:00 p.m.