It certainly was an up and down couple of days for the Monmouth University men’s basketball team.

The Hawks, who have been one of the Northeast Conference’s hotter teams in recent weeks, won their fifth straight game last Thursday, putting them into position to reach the .500 mark, and more importantly, earn a share of the Northeast Conference (NEC) lead with another win on Saturday against defending NEC champion Robert Morris University (RMU) from Pittsburgh, Pa. Unfortunately, that win never materialized as the Hawks dropped a 78-67 affair to fall to 8-10 on the year.Thursday’s 63-53win over St. Franciswas paced by Travis Taylor’s 20 points, as the Hawks improved to 4-1 in league play for the first time since the 2005-06 season. Justin Sofman came off the bench to score 15 points, while senior guard Whitney Coleman chipped in with 13 second-half points to seal the win.

“Our defense was the difference tonight, and we finally made some shots, which was what changed the game late,” said head coach Dave Calloway following the win. “With Travis on the bench in the second half, we knew we had to make shots, so maybe that relaxed our guards a little.”

Monmouth used a 12-0 run in the fourth to create some separation and cruised down the stretch. After consecutive baskets from St. Francis’ Anthony Ervin made it a 10-point game, 50-40, with 6:08 left, a Taylor’s layup off an inbounds play gave the Hawks a 52-40 lead with 5:40 remaining. Sofman then drained his fourth trifecta, with 4:16 left, extended the Monmouth lead to 55-40.

St. Francis (4-12, 2-3 NEC) pulled within single digits, 55-46, after scoring six straight points with 2:45 left, but four Ed Waite free throws reclaimed a 59-46 advantage with 1:43 left, and gave the Hawks all the breathing room they would need.

Calloway was hoping for a similar effort on Saturday, when the Hawks had a chance to put themselves in the middle of what is a wide-open NEC race. And early on, Monmouth University (MU) appeared to be up to the challenge, playing the host Colonials even throughout much of the first half. In fact, four free throws in the closing seconds of the first half gave the Hawks a 33-31 edge at the intermission.

However, the Hawks could not carry that momentum into the second half, as Robert Morris (10-8, 5-1) opened the second half with a 19-5 run that would eventually be the difference in the game.

Monmouth managed to trim the RMU advantage to 50-43 on a Travis Taylor threepoint play, but the Colonials responded by scoring the next five points to reclaim a double digit lead, 55-43, with 10:55 remaining. The Hawks pulled within 55-47, but RMU claimed its largest lead 60-47 on a 3-pointer with 9:00 on the clock. MU continued to fight, and got three straight baskets from Taylor to cut the lead to 61-53 with 5:47 left, but five straight RMU points pushed the lead back to 66-53, with just over five minutes to play.

To its credit, Monmouth continued to fight, getting within 73-65 following two fouls shots apiece from Nick DelTufo and Campbell and a trifecta from Coleman with 52 seconds remaining. But RMU was able to hold off the charging Hawks in the end, dropping MU 8- 10 on the year, and 4-2 in conference play.

Following the game, Calloway recognized that his players missed out on a good opportunity to prove they’re ready to compete with the conference’s elite teams.

“In the three phases of defense — transition, guarding the ball and rebounding — only rebounding was even tonight,” said Calloway. “They were better than us in the other two.”

Taylor led the Hawks in defeat, registering his seventh career double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Waite added 13 points and Campbell had 11.

Next up for MU is another date with St. Francis on Thursday in West Long Branch. Then, it’s a rematch with Robert Morris on Saturday at 4 p.m. in West Long Branch.

You can bet the Hawks will be looking forward to getting another shot at RMU.

Lady Hawks post a statement win

While the Monmouth men were unable to upset RMU on Saturday, the MU women got the job done.

The Hawks came back to defeat first-place Robert Morris, 51-50 on a Chanel Gomez basket with 0.6 seconds on Saturday afternoon at the Charles L. Sewall Center. The Hawks improve to 8-9 overall and 3-3 in the NEC, while the Colonials fall to 10-7 and 5-1 in the league.

Following the exciting win, MU head coach Stephanie Gaitley was quick to talk about the importance of the victory.

“This is one of my favorite all-time wins; this really was one for the ages,” the coach said. “We wanted to see what we were made of on this road trip, and I think the kids grew up a lot. This win and this trip proved we are a team to be reckoned within this league.”

Gomez’s game-winning shot was set up by freshman guard Carly Thibault, who split a double-team in the corner and found Gomez in perfect scoring position. The junior from Perth Amboy calmly scored with her left hand, sending the Hawks bench into a frenzy.

The Colonials’ desperation half-court attempt at the buzzer fell short, and the Hawks escaped with the win and a sweep of the league’s western Pennsylvania road trip.

Freshman Gabby Singer led a balanced Hawks scoring attack with 11 points and seven rebounds, while Thibault added 10. Sophomore Alexis Canady contributed six points and four assists, while freshman AshleyWomack added six points and three assists.

The Monmouth women also return to action on today when they host St. Francis University at 5 p.m. at the Multipurpose Activity Center.

The Lady Hawks are the NEC’s youngest team, and their recent play is sure to get the attention of the rest of the league. MU is beginning to find its stride, and as the Lady Hawks continue to gain confidence, they will likely become one of the teams that nobody wants to play down the stretch.