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WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Junior quarterback Trevor McDonagh threw four touchdown passes in the second half, but Monmouth built up a big lead early on and came away with a 61-28 victory at Kessler Field.

McDonagh becomes the first Lion to throw for four TDs since Sean Brackett accomplished the feat against Cornell on Nov. 10, 2012.

The Hawks, now 5-1 overall, scored 27 points off of Columbia turnovers, taking a 40-0 lead into halftime.

Trailing 40-0 at the half, the Lions regrouped and scored on a 10-play drive that spanned 3:32 late in the third quarter.  Starting at the Columbia 25, Turner DeMuth rushed for 13 yards to give the Lions a first down on 2nd and seven. After a quarterback scramble, McDonagh connected with Ryan Flannery for a six-yard gain and the first down. On second and 10 from the Monmouth 46, McDonagh completed a pass to T. DeMuth for a 22-yard gain, taking Columbia to the Monmouth 24.  Two plays later, McDonagh found Flannery in the end zone for the score.  Noah Zgrablich tacked on the extra point for Columbia first score of the game.

In the fourth quarter, Columbia's defense forced a turnover at the Monmouth 48-yard line when Devin Williams forced a fumble and recovered at midfield. Columbia scored just two plays later with a perfect flea flicker on a pass from McDonagh to Marcus Briscoe for a 34-yard touchdown. It was Briscoe's first collegiate touchdown.

David Donovan, JD Hurt and Alex Holme combined to force Monmouth to punt on the next Hawks possession. Colinn Early returned the ball 12 yards to the Columbia 26, where the Lions started a drive with 6:53 to play.

McDonagh connected with Chris Connors for a gain of 12 on the first play of the drive and two plays later found Connors again for a gain of 23.  John Hunton added another first down with a 15-yard reception. On fourth and six from the Monmouth 20, McDonagh connected with Connors for a gain of nine yards and the first down. McDonagh passed to Dan Slivka for an 11-yard touchdown reception.

In the final minutes, Columbia got the ball on the Monmouth 45 with just 1:23 to play. In three passes, the Lions were down to the Monmouth 10. McDonagh found Connors in traffic for a 10-yard touchdown reception. Zgrablich added his fourth PAT of the game for the final 61-28 margin.

McDonagh went 24-43-1 for 276 yards and four touchdowns. Connors finished with seven catches for 84 yards and a touchdown. Flannery added five catches for 54 and a TD.  Early totaled 111 all-purpose yards. 

Defensively, Gianmarco Rea and Toba Akinleye finished with nine tackles each, while Akinleye added 1.5 TFLs. First-year Alexander Holme added eight tackles, one for a loss and one forced fumble. Jared Katz added seven tackles and a pass breakup.

Columbia returns to action on Saturday, October 18, at Penn for a 1 p.m. kickoff.