Justin Rutty scored 17 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as Quinnipiac defeated Monmouth 64-59 on Thursday night after squandering a 16-point first-half lead.
Rutty, a senior forward, collected his ninth double-double this season and the 39th of his career for the Bobcats (20-8, 12-5 Northeast Conference), who trailed 48-47 with 7:33 left after leading 34-18 late in the first half.
A layup by Rutty gave the lead back to Quinnipiac, and Dominique Langston's 3-pointer made it 52-48. After Marcus Ware's free throw for the Hawks (9-20, 5-12), Rutty had a three-point play for a 55-49 lead with 4:29 left.
Quinnipiac shot just 29.0 percent (9 of 31) in the second half after making 56 percent (14 of 25) in the first half, but outrebounded the Hawks 30-13 after halftime, including 14-1 at the offensive end.
James Hett led Monmouth with 15 points, including 10 in the second half.
