WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - On Senior Night, Monmouth University dropped a 62-60 last-second decision to visiting Robert Morris in Northeast Conference action on Saturday night.

After Jesse Steele's theft at midcourt and subsequent three-point play tied the game at 60-60 with 33 seconds left, RMU's Russell Johnson drilled a jumper in the lane with 3.3 ticks showing, to lift the Colonials to a 62-60 victory. With 3.3 left, the ball was inbounded to James Hett, whose half-court game-winning attempt rattled in and out for the Hawks.

Monmouth, which has now had 17 of its contests, including nine in league play, decided by five points or less, falls to 9-19 overall and 5-11 in the NEC. Robert Morris, which clinched an NEC Tournament berth, and escaped with a three-point win over the Hawks at home in January, improves to 14-13, and 10-6 in the league.

"You saw basically how a lot of games have gone for us, we came up one play short, and it feels like a broken record," stated head coach Dave Calloway. "It would have been nice for the three seniors to go out with a win, and we are going to have to go on the road now and see what happens."

On the last play defensively, Calloway stated, "Williams was 5-for-5 for three and we said to watch out for the slip. We had two guys bite on it and they made the right play, and found the open man at the foul line."

Mike Myers Keitt paced the Hawks with 14 points, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, while Steele added 12 points and five assists. Ed Waite, who added eight points, hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds, while Hett and Marcus Ware added nine points each for the Hawks, who hit 48.9% from the field, but went 10-for-20 from the free throw line for the game.

Robert Morris opened up an 8-2 lead before a Myers Keitt three-pointer from the corner trimmed the lead to 8-5 with 15:27 showing. Velton Jones' answer from the beyond the arc claimed an 11-5 edge for the Colonials, and RMU held a 13-7 lead on a Yann Charles' jumper in the lane at 14:35.

Trailing by six, the Hawks responded with a 6-0 spurt over a 1:27 span to pull even at 13-13 after four straight points from Ware, with 12:00 on the clock. Jones' second trey put RMU back in front 16-13, and started a string of four straight three-point trips for the Colonials, as RMU took a 25-16 lead with 8:04 left.

The Colonials increased its run to 14-3 to take a 27-16 lead with 7:02 on the clock until a Hett drive, and Phil Wait's free throw made the score 27-19 with 5:50 showing.

After Johnson's jumper in the lane reclaimed a double-digit lead for RMU, Steele's four-point play and another Wait foul shot, pulled Monmouth within 29-24 at the 4:01 mark. After a defensive stop, Steele drilled another trey to cap an 8-0 run for the Hawks, and make the tally 29-27 with 3:12 left until the break.

Following a pair of Johnson free throws, Hett drained a trifecta to pull the Hawks within one, and Waite's jumper gave Monmouth a 32-31 edge with 2:02 showing. Monmouth, which rattled off a 13-2 spurt to claim its first lead on Waite's jumper, surrendered three points over the final 1:03 to trail 34-32 at the intermission.

RMU, which scored the last three of the opening stanza, notched the first four points of the second half to coral a 38-32 advantage, but Myers Keitt scored nine straight for the Hawks to pull Monmouth within 42-41 with his second straight three-pointer, with 16:55 left.

Waite's reverse lay-up made the score 44-43, and Monmouth reclaimed a 45-44 edge on Wait's post-up hoop with 15:10 on the clock. The Hawks hauled in a 46-44 edge on a Ware free throw, but Coron Williams' third three of the half put RMU back in front 47-46 with 12:21 showing.

Baskets from Steele and Ware put the Hawks ahead 51-48, but the Colonials answered with the next five, including Williams' fifth three-pointer, to claim a 53-51 advantage with 8:50 left. Monmouth responded with hoops from Ware and Wait to grab a 55-53 lead, but RMU scored five straight again to take a 58-55 lead with 4:43 left.

Hett's baseline drive trimmed the deficit to 58-57 at 3:35, but Lijah Thompson's dunk put the Colonials ahead 60-57 with 2:16 left.
Monmouth knotted the score at 60-60 on Steele's theft and subsequent three-point play with 33 seconds left, and after the Colonials called timeout with 19.1 left, Johnson hit the game-winner in the lane with 3.3 remaining.

Four Colonials scored in double-figures, led by Williams' 15 points on 5-for-5 from three-point range, as RMU hit 8-of-17 from beyond the arc.

Monmouth returns to action on Thursday, February 24, when the Hawks travel to Quinnipiac for an NEC contest at 7:00 p.m.