Monmouth (20-11) advances to its first final since capturing the 2001 title and will host seventh-seeded Central Connecticut State, who rallied for a 76-73 overtime victory in the first semifinal over No. 3 seed Fairleigh Dickinson. The final will take place Wednesday at 7:00 pm on ESPN2 in West Long Branch, NJ.

The Hawks shot 44 percent (11-of-25) in the second half, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range, and committed just one turnover during that stretch. They held the Colonials to 35 percent (9-of-26) shooting after intermission, 35 percent (17-of-49) overall and denied them their first appearance in the final since 2000.

"Our defense was terrific," said Monmouth head coach Calloway. "At halftime, I was happy because we were down two and I thought it was one of the worst offensive halves we’ve played all season."

Blake Hamilton (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin), an All-NEC selection, scored all of his game-high 14 points in the second half that included four during a 9-0 run in which the Hawks grabbed the momentum and a 37-27 lead with 11:01 left.

Dwayne Byfield (Elmont, NY/St. Mary’s), who also was scoreless in the first half, capped the run on a layup and finished the contest with 10 points.

The Colonials tried to make things interesting as Maurice Carter (Richmond, VA/Eleanor Roosevelt) hit a layup with 5:41 left to cut their deficit to 48-39. But the Hawks shot 12-of-13 from the line the rest of the way, finishing the half 15-of-19 and the contest 17-of-21.

Brian Boxler (Durham, NC/North Durham) scored eight points and Tyler Azzarelli (Tampa, FL/H.B. Plant) added seven for the Hawks, who overcame hitting just 32 percent (8-of-25) from the field in the first half and 2-of-12 from 3-point range.

All-NEC pick Chaz McCrommon (Pittsburgh, PA/Schenley) scored 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting and Mark Anderson (Topeka, KS/Highland Park) added nine off the bench for Robert Morris.

"We did a great job in the first half on Byfield and Hamilton," Colonials coach Mark Schmidt said. "We did what we wanted to do in the first half, but we should have probably had a bigger lead at halftime (22-20).

"Monmouth has beaten us three straight times this year," Schmidt continued, "and whenever you lose three to a team, you know who the better team is."

The victory marks the first time since 1997 both Monmouth’s men’s and women’s basketball teams will compete for the NEC crown in the same year. The third-seeded women advanced today to the final with a 64-60 triumph over No. 2 seed Sacred Heart.