Box Score
Brooklyn Heights, NY - - -Sophomore guard Will Campbell hit a pair of free throws with four seconds remaining to give the visiting Monmouth Hawks a 51-49 victory over the St. Francis (NY) Terriers, in a Northeast Conference contest on Thursday evening at the Pope Physical Education Center.
Junior guard Akeem Bennett recorded his third “double-double” of the season as he notched 15 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Terriers, who fell to 10-16 (7-8 NEC). Classmate Ricky Cadell (4-10, 3-pointers) was also in double-figures with 14 points.
St. Francis, who have now dropped six of their last seven contests, had possession of the ball with the score knotted at 49-49, but Terriers’ sophomore guard Justin Newton committed a turnover with 25 seconds left. After a timeout, Campbell (10 points) drove the lane and Newton was called for a blocking foul, which led to the game-winning free throws for the Hawks, who are now 12-15 (8-7 NEC).
The Terriers had an opportunity to send the game into overtime but missed two great looks at the basket in the closing seconds. St. Francis elected not to call timeout and executed a well-executed play as Cadell got free along the left sideline and drove to the bucket for a chance at the equalizer. However, his layup rimmed out of the hoop and Bennett’s follow did the same at the buzzer.
Monmouth, who led 28-23 at the break, extended their lead to 38-29 after a dunk by sophomore forward Travis Taylor (16 points) at the 14:27 mark. But the hosts scored the next nine points of the game to knot the score at 38-38 with 9:54 remaining. Cadell drained a trey to start the run and Bennett ended it with a 3-pointer from the right wing.
Once again, the Hawks surged ahead as they answered with a 9-2 spurt to grab a 47-40 advantage with 5:24 remaining in the contest. But the hosts fired right back with a 9-2 run of their own to tie the contest for the fourth and final time of the game, 49-49, after a Cadell triple from the left corner with 1:21 left.
St. Francis got off to a slow start to open the first half as the visitors jumped out to a 10-0 advantage at the 14:37 mark. But the Terriers went on a 13-2 run to grab a 13-12 lead after a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Stefan Perunicic with 8:58 left in the opening stanza. The Terriers took their final advantage of the first half, 20-18, after a trifecta by Cadell with 3:51 on the clock. Monmouth closed out the period with a 10-3 spurt.
Monmouth also got 14 points from junior guard Justin Sofman, who hit 4-of-8 treys.
The Terriers shot just 39.6 percent (19-of-48) from the floor and hurt themselves at the line by hitting only 4-of-11 attempts (36.4 percent). The Hawks shot just 37.3 percent (19-for-51) but hit 6-of-7 free throws (85.7 percent). Both teams knocked down seven treys.
St. Francis will host Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday at 4:30 as the Terriers will host “Shoot for a Cure Day” in an effort to raise funds for cancer research.