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BOX SCORE
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – There was never a sense in the Monmouth
locker room or on its sideline that an NCAA tournament berth was
slipping away, even when the Hawks trailed by 15 points at halftime
and by 20 in the second half.
The Hawks knew better. St. Francis of New York taught them that
last year in the opening round of the NEC tournament.
Gerry Crosby scored 11 points to lead a game-ending 31-8 run
that rallied Monmouth to a 67-64 victory over St. Francis in the
Northeast Conference championship Monday night.
"When they beat us last year, it hurt," Monmouth point guard
Rahsaan Johnson. "Coach said at halftime they put us out last
year, we're not going to let them put us out again. We used that as
motivation."
It worked.
The second-seeded Hawks (21-9) rallied from a 20-point deficit
with 13:59 remaining to earn their second NCAA tournament berth and
deny top-seeded St. Francis (18-11) its first NCAA berth.
"The engine shut off and it was hard to put back on," St.
Francis coach Ron Ganulin said. "We just didn't hit shots. I think
they got tight when the shots weren't falling and when Monmouth
made the run we got a little soft on defense. We got tentative at
both ends."
The Terriers had two chances to tie it in the closing seconds,
but Steven Howard had two 3-pointers bang off the rim in the 10.1
seconds.
Crosby, who finished with 13 points, had given the Terriers an
opportunity by missing the first of two free throws.
St. Francis made just one of 15 shots and turned the ball over
nine times in the final 13:59.
"When they went up 20 it hurt," Crosby said. "We just kept
telling ourselves we have to keep digging in on `D.' We know we can
score. On defense, we had to stick together because we kept telling
ourselves we've come too far to give up now. Everybody on this team
showed a lot of heart."
Steve Bridgemohan led the Hawks with 16 points and eight
rebounds. Johnson, the conference player of the year, had 14 points
and eight rebounds on what was a sub-par night for him.
The junior point guard did give Monmouth the lead for good at
64-63, hitting two free throws with 40.7 seconds to play.
"Those were the biggest shots of my life," said Johnson, who
added eight rebounds and four assists.
Howard missed a shot in the lane and Richy Dominguez, who had 17
points for St. Francis, missed a 3-pointer.
There was a tie up on the rebound and Monmouth got the ball
Crosby made two free throws with 15.3 seconds left to make it
66-63, and Greg Nunn made the first of a 1-and-1 for St. Francis.
Russ Anderson got the rebound and called time out. Crosby was
eventually fouled, making 1-of-2 to set up the last shots.
St. Francis, which had rallied from a nine-point halftime
deficit in the first round last year against Monmouth, seemed to be
in total control when it closed the first half with a 32-12 spurt,
and then opened the second half with 15-10 spurt for a 56-36 lead.
Dominguez had 11 points and Jason Morgan 10 in the first-half
burst, while Howard made three 3-pointers at the start of the
second half.
Down 56-36 and seemingly out of the game, Monmouth staged a
magnificent rally, scoring 17 straight points to get within 56-53
on a follow by Bridgemohan with 6:05 to go.
Bridgemohan was fouled on the play, but he missed the foul shot,
one of five he missed during the run.
Howard then converted a three-point play to push the lead to
59-53 with 5:58 to play, but the Hawks went on a 9-2 run and took
the lead on a 3-pointer by Crosby with 2:09 to play.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
St Francis (N.Y.) Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Gerry Crosby's 3-pointer finally gives Monmouth the lead with 2:09 left to play.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Rahsaan Johnson draws the foul and sinks the awkward shot as Monmouth begins to rally.
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A great second effort by Steve Bridgemohan gets Monmouth within three points late in the game.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
The Terriers' Jason Morgan gets the turnover and takes it in for an easy two in the first half.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Coach Dave Calloway was extremely pleased with Monmouth's effort in their come-from-behind victory.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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