HACKENSACK, N.J. (AP) Blake Hamilton scored 20 points and Monmouth held off a furious late rally by Fairleigh Dickinson in a 64-56 victory on Saturday night that gave the first-place Hawks a two-game lead in the Northeast Conference.
Chris Kenny added 10 points as the Hawks (8-8, 7-0 NEC) won their sixth straight game and matched their best start in the conference.
Tamien Trent scored 16 points and Gadi Buch had 12 for Fairleigh Dickinson (11-9, 7-2), which had a four-game winning streak snapped in losing for only the second time in nine games.
The difference in this game was Monmouth's defense, which has led the conference 11 of the last 16 years. The Hawks limited Fairleigh Dickinson to 30 points in the first 32 minutes in opening a 50-30 lead.
Gordon Klaiber and Chad Timberlake, the Knights two top scorers, were limited to 6 and 7 points, respectively. They combined for 5-of-24 shooting from the field.
The Knights were 4 of 21 from the field, including 1-of-9 from 3-point range when the suddenly started finding the range with less than eight minutes to play.
A 3-pointer by Buch ignited a 22-7 spurt that got the Knights to within 57-52 when Klaiber hit two free throws with 2:27 to play.
After a Monmouth turnover, Michael Peeples missed a 3-pointer that could have gotten the Knights within two points.
Another 3-pointer by Buch got Fairleigh Dickinson within 60-56 with under 18 seconds to go, but Hamilton hit two free throws and the Knights turned the ball over to ice the game.
Despite shooting 39 percent in the first half, Monmouth used a 17-6 spurt to open an early 26-14 lead.
Hamilton and Corey Hallett had four points apiece and Chris Kenny, Dejan Delic, Dwayne Byfield each added a 3-pointer.
The Hawks got a little sloppy in the final minutes of the half and Fairleigh Dickinson used a 7-2 spurt to get within 28-21.
Monmouth broke the game open early in the second half with a 22-9 spurt that was ignited by 3-pointers by Kenny and Tyler Azzarelli and six points by Hamilton, who was 12-of-15 from the free throw line.
