The Hawks, who had three players in double-figures, surrendered a season-high 53 second half points to the Midshipmen in falling to 5-4 on the year. Navy, which had five players in double-digits, was paced by Tilman Dunbar's 20 points, while improving to 5-5.
Monmouth grabbed a 44-35 lead with 17:26 remaining in the game on
Jesse Steele's three-pointer, but Navy retaliated with a 16-6 run over 4:24 to reclaim the lead, 51-50 on Thurgood Wynn's second straight lay-up with 12:30 showing.
Andrew Nicholas' three-pointer put the Hawks back in front 53-51 at 11:32, before the Midshipmen followed with the next 12 points to hold a 63-53 lead with 8:38 left.
A pair of free throws each from
Marcus Ware and
Stephen Spinella allowed the Hawks to climb within 64-57 but Navy answered with a 9-0 streak to claim a 73-57 edge with 5:17 showing.
Monmouth, which went 7:19 in between field goals, halted Navy's run on Ware's lay-in at 4:13, but the Midshipmen pushed their lead to as many as 19, twice in the final minute.
Spinella netted a career-high 16 points for Monmouth, while Nicholas poured in 15 points for his sixth straight double-digit outing. Ware chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds, while
Ed Waite tallied six points and seven boards for the Hawks, who shot 42.6% (23-54) for the game.
Navy, which shot 65.5% in the second half alone, netted 52 points in the paint, as freshman guard Dunbar established a new career-high with 20 points and seven assists. Wynn, who hit 8-of-9 from the floor, added 19 points, while Kendall Knorr (14), Worth Smith (11 points, 8 rebounds) and Will Kelly (10 points) all reached double-digits.
With the game scored at 5-5 following Spinella's lay-in, Navy scored six straight to grab an 11-5 edge on Worth Smith's breakaway slam at 15:45. A pair of
Gary Cox free throws at 14:42 stopped a 2:08 scoreless stretch for the Hawks, while a Ware jumper in the lane pulled MU within 11-9 with 14:03 showing.
Navy pushed its advantage to 16-9 on Wynn's lay-up, but the Blue and White responded with a 13-4 run, capped by
Christian White's deep three-pointer from the top of the key, to claim a 22-20 edge with 6:49 showing. The Midshipmen quickly knotted the contest at 22-22 and corralled a 26-25 advantage with 5:36 left, before the Hawks answered with an 8-0 spurt to take a 33-26 lead on Ware's basket with 3:27 remaining until the break.
Dion Nesmith's drive and an Nicholas jumper put Monmouth in front 37-30 with under a minute to play, while a pair of Kendall Knorr foul shots pulled Navy within 37-32 at the intermission.
Monmouth returns to action on Saturday, December 8, when the Hawks travel to the Carrier Dome to face the No. 4 ranked Syracuse Orange at 7:00 p.m.
