NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – A pair of free throws from senior Mike Myers Keitt, with 14.7 seconds left in overtime, vaulted Monmouth University to a 58-56 victory over Central Connecticut State University in Northeast Conference action, on Thursday night in Detrick Gym. Monmouth, which went 3-for-3 from the field in the extra time, improves to 3-6 in the NEC, in its second straight overtime contest.

After Dion Nesmith's three-pointer with 20 ticks remaining in regulation sent the game to an extra session, the Hawks outscored the home-standing Blue Devils 10-8 to grab the key road victory.

“I am so proud of our kids tonight. Their defensive effort was incredible,” stated head coach King Rice, who earned his first NEC road win of his career with Monmouth. “Mike stepped up and hit some big time free throws, and Ed made the free throws before Mike. Red [Andrew Nicholas] gets to the basket and makes some tough shots.”

Rice added, “It was a total team effort tonight. Jesse played well. Will made some big shots for us. I'm just proud of our kids who continue to fight. I'm happy we got this win at Central, because not many teams are going to win in here.”

After falling behind by a pair in overtime, the Hawks scored six straight points, including drives by Andrew Nicholas and Nesmith and a 1-and-1 from Ed Waite, to take a 54-50 lead with 3:10 left. Nicholas' second drive to the hoop in the extra session pushed MU in front 56-52, but CCSU knotted the game on two more foul shots from Ken Horton with 47 seconds left.

Myers Keitt was awarded two free throws on his drive to the basket with 14.7 remaining, and drained both foul shots to account for the final tally. On the ensuing possession for CCSU, Kyle Vinales missed a jumper that was corralled by Austin Tillotson the Hawks.

Tillotson was unable to connect on the front end of the one-and-one with 2.3 ticks left, but Waite stole the inbounds pass to seal the victory, Monmouth's first NEC road win since February 12, 2011 at FDU.

The two sides hit a pair of three-pointer each to open the game, while Marcus Ware's short baseline jumper gave the Hawks an 8-6 lead at 13:05. The Blue Devils answered with a 10-0 run over the next 5:25 of play to haul in a 16-8 advantage on Adonis Burbage's jumper in the lane with 7:15 on the board.

Jesse Steele, who hit the Hawks' first trey of the game to open the scoring on the night, connected on his second trifecta, ending a 7:43 scoreless stretch for Monmouth, pulling the Blue and White within 16-11, with 5:22 remaining.

After CC reclaimed a seven-point edge on Robby Ptacek's drive, the Hawks responded with a 10-0 spurt to retake the lead on Will Campbell's three-pointer off a feed out of the post from Ed Waite, 19-18, while the Hawks claimed a 21-18 lead on Phill Wait's lay-in on Austin Tillotson's pass.

After falling behind by eight with 7:15 remaining in the stanza, the Hawks ended the half on a 14-4 run to claim a 22-20 lead at the intermission.

CCSU and Monmouth traded three-point trips to open the second stanza, and the Blue Devils grabbed a 28-25 lead with 15:15 left on Ken Horton's three-point play.

The Hawks then scored the game's next eight points, and pushed their spurt to 11-2, to grab a 36-30 advantage on Mike Myers Keitt's trey with 11:48 left. The Blue Devils notched an 8-1 run, behind two straight baskets from Ken Horton, to snatch a 38-37 edge with 8:40 showing.

CCSU extended its lead to 40-37 before back-to-back three-pointers from Steele and Dion Nesmith vaulted the Hawks back in front 43-40 at 5:40.

The Blue Devils knotted the game at 43-43, but a pair of Marcus Ware free throws pushed the Hawks ahead 45-43 with 3:39 showing. Trailing by a pair, Horton's wing three-pointer put CC back in front and the Blue Devils took a 48-45 lead on Kyle Vinales' drive with 1:19 remaining.

On the next possession, Steele's three-point attempt was off, while on the defensive end, Andrew Nicholas drew a charge to regain possession for the Hawks with 32.7 seconds remaining.

The Hawks tied the game at 48-48 on Nesmith's three-pointer with 20 ticks remaining and went to overtime when Vinales' free throw line jumper fell short.

Steele notched his 14th double-digit scoring game of the year with a team-best 12 points and five assists, as all nine Hawks who played, scored at least four points. Nesmith added his third straight game in double-figures with 11 points, as Monmouth hit 42.2% from the field. Ware added seven points and five rebounds for the Blue and White.

Monmouth also hit 11 three-pointers to tie a season-best mark, and connected on a season-best 47.8% from beyond the arc.

Central (9-10 overall, 6-3 NEC) was led by Horton's 16 points, all in the second half, while Vinales finished with 15, as the Blue Devils hit 40.7% from the field, and 9-of-10 from the free throw line.

Monmouth, which handed CCSU just its second home loss of the year, returns to action on Saturday, January 28 when the Hawks travel to Bryant University for an NEC contest, at 4:00 p.m.