WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Four Hawks scored in double-figures as the Monmouth University men's basketball team swept in-state foe Fairleigh Dickinson in the 2012 Garden State Rivlary, 82-68, on Saturday night in the MAC. With the victory, the Hawks improve to 7-7 in the Northeast Conference and 9-18 overall, as Monmouth has won five of its last six.

The Hawks, who posted their highest point total of the season in a winning effort, got 14 points and seven rebounds from Marcus Ware, while Jesse Steele added 14 points as well, his eighth straight double-digit outing of the year. Ed Waite, who went 4-for-5 from the floor added 12 points, while Mike Myers Keitt contributed 12 points, five rebounds and four assists.

"FDU really gave us alot of problems guarding the ball tonight," stated head coach King Rice. "I think our team is growing up right before your eyes, and I'm proud of my team so much, and I told them that after the game."

Behind seven points from Waite and a lay-in from Dion Nesmith, the Hawks jumped out to a 7-0 and 9-3 lead over the Knights with 17:35 showing, while Steele's three-pointer inflated the MU advantage to 12-3, 15 seconds later.

Monmouth increased its lead to 14-5 on a pair of foul shots from Waite, and the Hawks led FDU 17-9 at 15:15 on Phill Wait's post-move. The Knights responded with a 7-2 spurt, capped by Briahn Smith's jumper at 11:11 to make the tally 19-16.

The Hawks pushed their edge to 24-18 on a Myers Keitt three-pointer from the top of the key, but Smith, who notched seven straight points for the Knights, answered with a three of his own at 8:49 to make the score 24-21. FDU climbed within three again on Lonnie Robinson's trey at 7:26, but Myers Keitt's second trifecta started a 9-2 spurt for the Hawks, as Monmouth grabbed a 36-26 lead with 4:24 remaining.

Monmouth hauled in an 11-point advantage behind Steele's three-pointer, 43-32, with 2:44 showing, before the Knights made the deficitd 43-36 following consecutive baskets, with 1:51 left, and trimmed the Hawks' advantage to 45-39 at the break.

The Knights put together a 7-2 run to open the second half to climb within 47-46, before Steele's three-point play halted FDU's momentum. FDU registered four of the next five to make the score 51-50 at 16:08, but the Hawks answered with a 17-4 spurt to inflate the lead to 68-54 with 8:22 on the clock.

After FDU notched four straight, back-to-back lay-ups from Myers Keitt and Andrew Nicholas put MU back in front 72-58 with 5:00 left. The Knights then responded with the next six to trim the deficit to 72-64 with 2:42 remaining, but Steele's three-pointer from the top of the key stopped FDU's spurt, while a pair of free throws from Steele and Austin Tillotson made the score 79-66 with 1:17 left.

Rice added, "Earlier in the year, I probably put them in some bad situations with our schedule and they are so resilient, they keep fighting, they keep getting better every single day. I take my hat off to my kids for continuing to fight to put ourselves in a spot that we haven't been in in a while, with a chance to do some special things this year."

Melquan Bolding hit for a game-high 24 points to pace the Knights, while George Goode added 16 points and Smith chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds off the bench for FDU, which hit 50.9% from the field overall.

Monmouth returns to action on Thursday, February 16 when the Hawks travel to Staten Island, New York, to face Wagner in the Spiro Sports Center. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.