West Long Branch, N.J. - Dejan Delic hit four three-pointers in the last 5:21 of the contest to help propel Monmouth to a 76-68 victory over the Robert Morris University men's basketball team Saturday night at Boylan Gymnasium in West Long Branch, N.J. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Colonials and drops the club to 13-6 overall on the 2006-07 campaign, including 5-5 in Northeast Conference play.
Senior guard Derek Coleman (Dorchester, Mass. / Charlestown) opened the game's scoring with a three-pointer, one of five trifecta's in the first six and-a-half minutes of play as RMU built a 19-13 lead. Coleman and sophomore guard Jeremy Chappell (Cincinnati, Ohio / Northwest) each hit a pair during the salvo, while junior guard Tony Lee (Boston, Mass. / Charlestown) added another. The Colonials eventually pushed their lead to eight on a pair of occasions, both on jumpers from senior forward A.J. Jackson (Monessen, Pa. / Monessen), but the Hawks hung close thanks to a shooting percentage of 51.9 percent before halftime.
Lee gave Robert Morris a 30-21 advantage with a three-pointer at the 7:09 mark of the first half, but John Bunch came back to score on a dunk to close Monmouth within seven, 30-23. Chappell answered Bunch's dunk with a layup on a putback of his own missed shot, and after a scramble for a loose ball went out of bounds on the next Hawk possession, the ball was given to Robert Morris. Monmouth head coach Dave Calloway was called for a technical foul after the play, and Coleman promptly sank both of his free throws to give RMU a 34-23 edge with 4:37 left before the break.
However, RMU went cold offensively the rest of the half, going 0-for-5 from the field while committing four turnovers. In the process the Hawks scored 13 unanswered points to take a 36-34 lead with 56 ticks left on the first-half clock, which was capped by a three-pointer from Delic. Robert Morris was able to send the game tied into the break at 36-36 when freshman guard Mezie Nwigwe (Hyattsville, Md. / High Point) hit a pair of free throws with four seconds left before halftime.
Jhamar Youngblood opened the second half scoring with a three-pointer to give the Hawks a 39-36 edge, and Monmouth held the lead despite RMU connecting on its shots from the floor. Chappell answered Youngblood's trifecta with a jumper, and his jumper with 16 minutes to go pulled RMU within one, 43-42. However, on the next possession Corey Hallett appeared to have his shot blocked by Chappell, but he was called for the foul. Chappell then picked up a technical for disagreeing with the call, pushing his infraction total to five and forcing him to sit out the last 15:42 of the contest. Monmouth could only convert two of its four free throws to give the Hawks a 45-42 edge, and Lee was able to close RMU's deficit to one again, 45-44, with a pair of his own from the charity stripe.
The game remained a close affair until Delic's three-pointer with 5:21 to go pushed the Hawks in front, 61-59. The Colonials answered with a three-pointer of their own, this time from junior forward Colson Sénat (Montreal, Quebec / Vanier College), but Delic hit from long range again to give Monmouth the lead for good, 64-62, with 3:21 remaining.
Lee paced Robert Morris with 21 points and added seven rebounds and four assists, while Chappell contributed 16 points and Coleman 13. Delic led Monmouth with 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 7-for-10 from beyond the arc.
Robert Morris returns home to the Charles L. Sewall Center for its next contest, hosting Fairleigh Dickinson for a 7:00 p.m. NEC tilt Thursday, Feb. 1.
