Moon Township, Pa. - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team tied a single-game record with 16 three-pointers en route to an 87-68 victory over No. 6 seed Monmouth in a 2012 Northeast Conference Tournament quarterfinal game at the Charles L. Sewall Center Thursday night.

The Colonials, who will travel to face No. 2 seed Wagner in a Noon tip Sunday, March 4, as part of the NEC Tournament semifinals, improved to 23-9 on the 2011-12 campaign, while the Hawks slipped to 12-20.

Redshirt sophomore guard Coron Williams (Midlothian, Va. / Christchurch School) set an NEC Tournament single-game record with eight three-pointers, concluding the night with a game-high 25 points. He finished 8-for-11 from beyond the arc, breaking the old record of seven that was held by four different players.

Williams also tied a Charles L. Sewall Center record for three-pointers by a player from Robert Morris, tying a mark that is held by four former Colonials.

Robert Morris jumped out to an 11-1 advantage in the contest as redshirt junior guard Velton Jones (Philadelphia, Pa. / Northeast Catholic) converted a pair of four-point plays.

Monmouth responded with a 16-5 run to take a 17-16 advantage at the 11:33 mark of the first half. Mike Myers Keitt scored eight points during the surge for the Hawks, while Will Campbell gave Monmouth the lead with a layup.

Sophomore forward Mike McFadden (Newark, N.J. / Technology) would push the Colonials back on top, 18-17, with a layup with 11 minutes remaining in the first half, which started RMU on a 12-2 spurt. Five different Colonials scored, including a three-pointer from Williams.

The Hawks were able to trim their deficit to 31-30 with just 3:04 to play before intermission, but a 14-5 run to close the half that featured a pair of three-pointers from freshman forward Lucky Jones (Newark, N.J. / St. Anthony) gave Robert Morris a 44-36 edge at halftime.

Redshirt junior guard Russell Johnson (Chester, Pa. / Chester) would open the scoring in the second half with a three-pointer to again push RMU's lead to double digits, 47-36, but Monmouth didn't go away, using a 9-2 spurt to pull within 53-48 with 15:03 to go.

Robert Morris weathered the surge by the Hawks, using a 15-2 run to take control and open up a 68-50 lead. Williams buried a pair of three-pointers during the spurt, while senior forward Lawrence Bridges (Detroit, Mich. / Columbus State Community College) capped it with a dunk.

The biggest lead of the game for the Colonials came with 6:37 remaining, when the eighth three-pointer of the contest from Williams gave Robert Morris a 77-55 advantage.

Williams led four players in double figures for RMU, as he was joined by Lucky Jones, who finished with 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and Velton Jones and sophomore guard Anthony Myers (Washington, D.C. / Charis Prep).

Velton Jones notched his first career double-double with 12 points and tying a career high with 10 assists, while Myers finished with 12 points and four dimes.

Monmouth was led by Ed Waite, who finished with 14 points. Jesse Steele added 11 points, four assists and four steals, while Myers Keitt scored 10 points off the bench.

Notes: It marked the fourth time in school history the Colonials have hit 16 three-pointers in a game and the first since an 87-81 setback at Syracuse (3/18/08) in first round of the 2008 MasterCard NIT ... Williams joined former Colonials Scott Shepherd, Dan Alcorn, Kevin Covert and Karon Abraham to hit eight three-pointers in an RMU uniform at the Sewall Center ... The old NEC Tournament single-game record of seven three-pointers was held by Andy Lake of Marist (1992), Jermaine Slider of Fairleigh Dickinson (1997), former Colonial Gene Nabors (2000) and Joey Mundweiler of Wagner (2009) ... The Colonials shot 52.7 percent (29-for-55) from the field, notching their 27th straight win when shooting at least 50 percent from the floor ... Monmouth converted 43.4 percent (23-of-53) of its shots but were just 12-for-31 (38.7 percent) shooting in the second half ... Robert Morris held a 40-26 edge on the glass, including a 14-6 advantage on the offensive boards ... RMU outscored Monmouth, 22-6, in second-chance points and 23-13 in points off turnovers.