West Long Branch, N.J. - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team erased a 15-point deficit in the second half and outscored Monmouth, 14-6, in overtime to post an 81-73 win over the Hawks Saturday night in a Northeast Conference game at the MAC.

The Colonials improved 15-6 overall and 6-2 in the NEC with the victory, while the Hawks slipped to 4-17 overall and 2-6 in league play.

RMU held a 33-29 halftime advantage, but Monmouth opened the second half on a 19-1 run to take a 48-34 lead with 14:39 to play. The Hawks did the majority of their damage from international waters, as Jesse Steele hit a trio of three-pointers, while Dion Nesmith added two of his own.

Freshman forward Lucky Jones (Newark, N.J. / St. Anthony) converted RMU's first field goal of the second half with 14:20 to go to try and stem the tide, but a dunk by Phil Wait and another three-pointer from Nesmith helped give Monmouth its biggest lead of the game, 53-38.

Robert Morris began to slowly chip away, scoring five quick points as a layup from sophomore forward Mike McFadden (Newark, N.J. / Technology) and a three-pointer by redshirt junior guard Velton Jones (Philadelphia, Pa. / Northeast Catholic) closed RMU's deficit to single digits, 55-46.

Following a Monmouth timeout, Ed Waite hit a pair of free throws and Nesmith buried a jumper to push the lead for the Hawks to 59-46.

That's when sophomore guard Anthony Myers (Washington, D.C. / Charis Prep) went to work. On three consecutive possessions Myers was successful from long range to help trim the deficit for the Colonials to 59-55.

Austin Tillotson would convert a jumper with 6:50 remaining to extend Monmouth's advantage to 61-55, but four straight points from Velton Jones and a layup from Myers knotted the game, 61-61, with 5:07 left in the second half.

Robert Morris successfully climbed out of the 15-point deficit with 2:55 left in regulation when Velton Jones connected from beyond the arc to give the Colonials a 66-65 edge.

The game eventually went to overtime as Steele's last second jumper in regulation fell short.

Velton Jones and Myers took over in the extra frame, with the first eight points of overtime coming from the duo. Myers buried his fourth three-pointer of the contest with 3:23 to go that gave the Colonials a 71-67 lead, and he added a pair of free throws 19 seconds later.

A layup from Velton Jones at the 2:48 mark of overtime extended the edge for RMU to 75-67, and in the last minute the Colonials finished 6-for-8 at the free-throw line to seal the victory.

Velton Jones scored a game-high 35 points to lead Robert Morris and also added six assists and three steals, while Myers established a new career high with 16 points.

Myers produced a perfect night shooting, finishing 5-for-5 from the field, including 4-for-4 from long range, and 2-for-2 at the free-throw line.

McFadden added 10 points and three blocks, while Lucky Jones scored seven points and established a career high with 14 boards.

Monmouth was led by Nesmith, who scored 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting before fouling out. Steele finished with 15 points and six assists, and Wait contributed 12 points.

Thanks to a two-game sweep in New Jersey, the Colonials return home to the Charles L. Sewall Center looking to extend their winning streak to a season-high four games Thursday, Jan. 26, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against LIU Brooklyn in a game that will be televised live on Root Sports.