BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y. – Monmouth University fell to 1-4 in Northeast Conference play behind its 81-64 loss at St. Francis College on Thursday in the Pope Center. Monmouth, which was led by senior Will Campbell's season-high 15 points, forced 15 second half turnovers in its comeback attempt.

Consecutive three-pointers from Dion Nesmith and Jesse Steele made the score 7-6, before the Terriers drilled two straight treys to go ahead 13-6 with 15:05 left in the half. Mike Myers Keitt's traditional three-point play halted the SFC spurt and made the tally 13-9 and Campbell's trifecta pulled the Hawks within 15-12 at 13:25.

The Terriers responded with a 6-0 spurt in just under two minutes of play, capped by a pair of Matt Milk baskets in the paint, to take a 21-12 advantage, and pushed the run to 14-3 to haul in a 29-15 lead with 6:35 left.

Ed Waite's lay-up off a feed from Austin Tillotson stopped the run, making the score 29-17 with 6:20 showing, but the Terriers rattled off eight of the next 10 to grab a 37-19 cushion with 4:08 remaining on Milk's offensive put-back.

Despite Campbell ending the half scoring the final seven points for the Hawks, the Terriers took a 20-point advantage into the intermission, 48-28, as Stefan Perunicic hit his third three-pointer with 14 ticks left.

Monmouth, which held SFC scoreless for the opening 4:34 of the second half, climbed within 52-36 following Campbell's corner trey and Andrew Nicholas' three-point play with 14:21 showing.

Consecutive baskets from Steele  and Phill Wait pulled the Blue and White within 59-46, while Dion Nesmith dropped in a three-point play to make the tally 61-49 with 8:06 on the clock.

The Terriers responded with a 10-1 run over the next 2:35 to push the advantage to 71-50 with 5:07 showing. SFC inflated its run to 18-5 to take a 79-54 lead with 3:53 remaining.

SFC (7-9, 4-1 NEC), which shot 53.7% from the field, had five players score in double-figures, as Perunicic and Brent Jones led the way with 14 points each. Jalen Cannon notched a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

The Hawks, who connected on 33.9% from the floor, got 13 points and six assists from Steele, while Tillotson added eight points, and Myers Keitt chipped in with seven points and four rebounds.

Monmouth (3-15) returns to action on Saturday, January 14 when the Hawks travel to Brooklyn, N.Y., to face defending Northeast Conference champion LIU Brooklyn at 4:30 p.m.