Sofman scores 18 points and Monmouth finishes strong to beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 65-51

Monmouth outlasts Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 65-51

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. — Reserve Justin Sofman scored 18 points and Monmouth (N.J.) used a late second-half surge to beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 65-51 on Wednesday night.

With the Hawks (4-9) leading 43-29 with 13:18 left, the Islanders used a 16-2 run to pull ahead 46-45 with 7:35 remaining. After the score was tied twice — the last time at 50 with 6:11 left — Monmouth closed out the game on a 15-1 spurt with Sofman scoring nine points.

Monmouth was 22-for-62 (35.5 percent) from the field while Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (4-6) shot 35.3 percent (18-for-51). But the Hawks were 9-for-23 from long range as the Islanders shot 3-for-20.

Monmouth’s Travis Taylor, named the Northeast Conference Player of the Week on Monday, had his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Kevin Palmer scored 21 points to lead Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which won the rebounding battle 41-37.