WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – In its third game this season against a nationally-ranked opponent, Monmouth University fell to No. 25 Harvard 70-61 in its final non-conference game of the season, on Tuesday night in the MAC.

The Hawks, who tied the game at 50-50 with 12:10 remaining, and trailed 57-56 with 6:25 showing, were outscored 13-5 in the final six minutes of play, as the Crimson went 8-for-8 from the free throw line in the final three minutes.

Marcus Ware, who scored 14 points and added seven rebounds in the game stated, "It is real frustrating, especially when we have the taste of a win in our mouths, but it just comes down to being tough at the end of the game, getting extra rebounds and hustle plays. We've got to focus in and lock down on that."

Jesse Steele poured in a team-high 16 points, while Mike Myers Keitt chipped in 10 points and five rebounds and Phill Wait added eight points.

After Ware's post move made the score 3-2, the Crimson notched the next seven points to grab a 10-2 advantage at 16:00, before a pair of Ware free throws and Ed Waite's lay-in pulled the Hawks within 10-6 with 15:12 left.

Laurent Rivard connected on two straight treys to give Harvard a 16-8 edge with 12:08 on the clock, but the Hawks responded with a 9-1 spurt over 3:39 to knot the score at 17-17 on Ware's putback with 8:06 remaining. Harvard halted the run and reclaimed the lead on Keith Wright's offensive rebound and lay-up at 7:39, and after a 6-0 spurt, held a 23-17 advantage with 5:56 showing.

Wait hammered home a dunk off a feed from Steele to make the tally 23-19, and Steele's jumper pulled the Hawks within 25-21 with 4:48 on the clock.

After Myers Keitt's jumper in the lane made the score 27-23 with 3:09 on the board, the Crimson answered with a 7-0 run in 1:50 of action to haul in a 34-23 lead, and Wesley Saunders' reverse lay-up as time expired gave Harvard a 36-25 lead at the intermission.

Steele's trifecta allowed MU to climb within single-digits, 38-30, at 19:02, but Rivard's fourth three-pointer put Harvard ahead 41-30 and the Crimson took a 43-30 edge on Wright's post-up at 18:28.

The Hawks netted four of the next five to make the score 44-34, and Monmouth pulled within 46-42 after consecutive three-pointers from Steele and Austin Tillotson, forcing Harvard to call timeout with 15:29 left in the contest.

Following a Saunders' lay-in, the Hawks put together a 6-0 run to tie the score at 48-48 on Ware's post move with 12:55 showing.

Steele's drive at 12:10 knotted the game at 50-50, and Myers Keitt's jumper in the lane made the score 57-56 at 6:25.

Leading by one, Harvard put together a 9-0 run over a four-minute span, to take a 66-56 lead with 1:58 left, but Steele's three-pointer with 1:12 on the board made the tally 66-59.

Harvard, which netted its final eight points of the game in the final three minutes, all from the free throw line by Oliver McNally, held on for the nine-point road win.

"I'm very pleased with the stretch we had to have there late in this ball game to pull this game out," stated Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker. "I thought Monmouth played an exceptional game. I thought they played incredibly hard, got down double-digits and certainly made a run at it. We had our hands full from tap to buzzer."

Harvard was paced by Wright's 18 point, 15 rebound double-double, with six blocked shots, while Rivard ended with 16 points.

Monmouth (3-14, 1-3 NEC) returns to action on Thursday, January 12 when the Hawks travel to Brooklyn Heights, N.Y., to face St. Francis College in Northeast Conference action at 7:00 p.m.