PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Monmouth, which held a two-point halftime lead, fell in non-conference action at Rutgers, 66-52, on Wednesday night. The Hawks (2-7), who led 37-34 with 17:33 remaining in the game, were paced by Travis Taylor's 20 points and nine rebounds, in the final game of a seven-game road swing.

The Scarlet Knights, who attempted 19 second half free throws, outscored Monmouth 32-15 in the final 17:21 to improve to 6-2.

With the game tied at 5-5, back-to-back Taylor jump shots from the foul line pushed the Hawks in front 9-5 with 16:15 on the clock.

Taylor's fourth basket, at 12:58, made the score 13-11, but Mike Rosario's three-point play gave Rutgers its first lead at 12:27 and the Scarlet Knights grabbed an 18-13 edge on a pair of free throws.

After Taylor's layup in transition pulled the Hawks within 20-17, with 9:36 showing, Monmouth answered an RU free throw with consecutive three-pointers from Justin Sofman and Whitney Coleman to retake the lead, 23-21, with 8:23 left in the stanza.

Hamady Ndiaye's lay-in put the Scarlet Knights ahead 24-23 with 7:35 remaining, but Coleman's trey and Sofman's back-door layup put the Hawks in front 28-24 with 5:30 left. A Rosario short jumper made it a two-point game, before Nick DelTufo's three-pointer from the top of the key, gave Monmouth a 31-26 advantage with 3:50 showing.

DelTufo's foul line jumper at 2:27 put the Hawks ahead 33-28, but the Scarlet Knights, coupled with four MU turnovers in the final two minutes of the half, cut the lead to 33-31 at the break.

Another Taylor layup out of the break gave MU a 35-31 lead just 30 seconds into the second half, and the sophomore's jumper made the score 37-34, but the Scarlet Knights answered with a 17-1 run, nine of which came from the foul line, to grab a 51-38 advantage with 11:08 left.

Mike Myers Keitt's baseline jumper at 10:10 ended the string, but seven straight RU points gave the Scarlet Knights a 58-40 lead with 7:23 on the clock.

Monmouth, ignited by a Sofman trey from the top of the key, at 6:57, scored the next eight points, capped by Will Campbell's transition three-pointer, to trim the lead to 58-48.

The Hawks, who hit 14-of-28 from the floor in the opening half, also got eight points and six rebounds from Sofman, and went 8-for-11 from the foul line, while the Scarlet Knights went 20-for-33 from the charity stripe.

Monmouth, coming off a seven-game road swing, returns to action on Saturday, December 12, when the Hawks host Penn, on Autism Awareness Night, at 7:00 p.m.