EMMITSBURG, MD. – Highlighted by a season-high 14 three-pointers, including 6-of-7 from junior Dion Nesmith, Monmouth University rallied from a nine-point second half deficit to earn a 68-66 victory at Mount St. Mary's on Saturday night and clinch a berth in the 2012 Northeast Conference Tournament.

The Hawks, who trailed 60-51 with 9:12 left, ended the game on a 17-6 run to seal its first victory in Knott Arena since February 17, 2007, and a trip to the league postseason.

Trailing by nine, the Hawks put together a 10-0 and 16-2 run to haul in a 67-62 advantage following consecutive three-pointers from Mike Myers Keitt and Nesmith, with 3:28 left.

After a Myers Keitt free throw pushed the Hawks in front 68-64, Mount climbed within two on Kelvin Parker's follow dunk with 52.9 ticks showing. With 19.9 left on the clock Ed Waite missed a pair of free throws, and Nesmith and Jesse Steele combined to coral a loose ball with 3.5 seconds left. Steele, who was fouled, missed the front end of the one-and-one, while the Hawks' defense pressured Juliian Norfleet up the floor, not allowing a shot attempt as time expired.

“I am so proud of our kids. This was a shoot-out that came down to the last possession,” stated head coach King Rice. “I thought our kids fought extremely hard to get us back in the game, and once we got back in the game I thought we did a great job guarding them the way that we needed to, to pull out the win."

Monmouth, which hit 14-of-25 from beyond the arc, was led by Nesmtih's 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while Andrew Nicholas, who went 8-for-8 from the foul line, added 19 points off the bench.

“We have a lot of guys that can shoot, you just have to get them to take the right ones, and tonight we made enough to get us this win,” commented Rice, who has led the Hawks to four NEC road wins.

On qualifying for the tournament, Rice added, “We have two more home games that I want to win so that we can go into the tournament at 10-8, but I am so proud of our kids because when I first got here I told them that if they stay together we can make the tournament. Now we have the opportunity and it is great for our kids, our parents, the students, the fans and our administration, and I'm just happy that I get to go for the ride.”

Behind three-pointers from Austin Tillotson and Nesmith, Monmouth opened the contest with a 7-3 lead, but the Mountaineers claimed their first advantage, 10-9, with 13:30 showing as Norfleet drained a wing trey.

Monmouth, which held the Mount without a field goal for 7:40, pushed its lead to 22-15 on Phill Wait's dunk, before Raven Barber's three-point play ended the Mountaineers' slide, and made the tally 22-18 with 5:50 showing.

Two sets of foul shots from Nicholas and Will Campbell's second trey put Monmouth ahead 29-22 with 3:32 left, but MSM retaliated with a 6-0 spurt in nearly two minutes to climb within a point, 29-28 with 50.2 seconds remaining in the half.

Steele stopped Mount's run with 43 seconds left, giving MU a 32-28 edge, but Danny Thompson's free throw allowed MSM to trim the deficit to 32-29 at the break. Mount, which went 12-for-18 from the line in the opening half, hit just 8-of-23 field goals, while the Hawks connected on 6-of-10 from beyond the arc.

The Mount raced out of the locker room with the half's first seven points, and reclaimed the lead, 34-32, its first lead since 10-9, on Norfleet's three-pointer with 18:41 left.

Trailing 36-32, Nesmith drilled a pair of trifectas to knot the game at 38-38 with 15:45 remaining, while four straight points from Nicholas pushed the Hawks in front 42-41 at 14:24.

Three-pointers from Nicholas and Nesmith tied the game at 45 and 48, while another Nicholas trey pulled Monmouth within 53-51 at 10:47, but the Mount answered with a 7-0 run to claim at 60-51 advantage with 9:12 remaining.

Campbell's steal at midcourt and subsequent three-point play started a 10-0 spurt for the Hawks, as Monmouth reclaimed the lead 61-60 on Nesmith's three-pointer with 5:05 left. After a pair of Josh Castellanos free throws put the Mount back ahead by one, Myers Keitt and Nesmith connected on back-to-back treys to give the Hawks a 67-62 advantage with 3:28 showing.

Monmouth returns to action on Thursday, February 23 when the Hawks host St. Francis in an NEC matchup in the MAC. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.