WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Monmouth University fell to Northeast Conference rival Wagner, 89-79, in league action, on Saturday afternoon in the MAC. Monmouth, which was paced by Jesse Steele's 20 points, held a six-point lead at halftime, but Wagner outscored the Hawks 54-38 in the second stanza, including 21-of-26 from the foul line, for the road win.

The Hawks, who trailed 71-69 following an Ed Waite offensive rebound and putback, connected on 46.0% from the floor and 14-for-24 from the foul line, while the Seahawks (12-3, 3-1 NEC) hit 29-of-38 from the charity stripe.

Steele, who had 17 points at halftime, led the Hawks with his fifth career 20-point game, and seven assists, while Mike Myers Keitt added 16 points and six boards off the bench, and Andrew Nicholas notched 10 points. Waite and Phill Wait combined for 17 points and nine rebounds as well.

“I am proud of our guys,” stated head coach King Rice. “I think we got better and we are going to continue to work. I take my hat off to the Wagner team. They are very good and well coached. Down the stretch they executed a little bit better than us. I wish we could have gotten it even at 71, because that may have made the difference.”

Monmouth grabbed an early 6-2 lead following back-to-back Steele baskets, and held an 8-5 advantage after a drive from Nicholas with 16:10 left.

After Nicholas' three-pointer gave the Hawks a 13-9 edge with 14:51 showing, the Seahawks responded with five straight to haul in their first lead of the contest, 14-13, with 13:27 showing on a Latif Rivers' corner trey.

The Hawks reclaimed the lead on Austin Tillotson's fast break lay-up following a steal by Waite, and Wait's three-point play put the Blue and White in front 18-16 with 11:09 remaining.

Wagner corralled a 23-22 edge on Chris Martin's three-point play with 6:59 on the board, but the Hawks answered with a 7-0 spurt in 1:16 of action to take a 29-23 lead, following a Myers Keitt three-pointer and fast break lay-in off a feed from Steele. Steele's lay-up put the Hawks ahead 31-25 with 5:07 left, but the Seahawks put together an 8-0 spurt to hold a 35-33 lead with 2:07 left.

The Hawks, who hit 57.6% from the floor in the half, ended the stanza with the final eight points, including consecutive three-pointers from Steele and Nicholas to hold a 41-35 lead at the break.

The Seahawks jumped out with a 9-0 run in the opening 1:55 of the second half to take a 44-41 lead, before Steele's three-pointer knotted the contest at 46-46 with 15:52 remaining.

Wagner answered with another 8-0 run in 1:09 to hold a 54-46 advantage with 14:21 showing, but the Hawks notched six of the next nine to pull within 57-52 on a set of Myers Keitt foul shots, with 12:52 left.

Josh Thompson's traditional three-point play gave Wagner a 60-52 cushion at 11:10 before the Hawks strung together an 8-2 spurt, five of which came from Will Campbell, to climb within 62-60 with 8:49 remaining.

After the two sides traded three-point plays, back-to-back hoops from Waite and Marcus Ware allowed the Blue and White to trim the deficit to 69-67 with 6:03 showing. Another Waite offensive putback pulled MU within 71-69, but three Rivers' free throws, coupled with his pull-up wing jumper, put Wagner ahead 76-69 with 3:32 on the board.

Wait's second three-point trip pulled the Hawks within 76-72 at 3:22, but Wagner grabbed an 82-74 cushion on a Rivers' trifecta with 1:57 showing. Myers Keitt answered with a three-pointer for Monmouth, making the tally 82-77 at 1:44.

Wagner also had three players in double-figures, led by Rivers' game-high 28 points, while Jonathan Williams added 16 points and four assists. The two also combined to go 16-of-19 from the free throw line. Kenneth Ortiz added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Monmouth (3-13, 1-3 NEC) returns to action on Tuesday, January 10 when the Hawks host Harvard in its final non-conference game of the year, at 7:00 p.m.