Monmouth basketball blasted by Drexel, 67-35, as Hawks fall to 1-15
Monmouth traveled to Philadelphia Saturday for its first-ever Colonial Athletic Association game away from home. And after dropping its first two CAA games in West Long Branch, the trip to face Drexel went about how you figured it would for the struggling Hawks.
In losing for the 15th time in 16 games, Monmouth was down 21 points at halftime and never able to mount a challenge, falling 67-35 at the Daskalakis Center.
The Hawks’ offensive shortcomings were evident all afternoon, shooting just 28 percent for the game, rallying in the final two minutes to get past program low of 31 points, set in 1997 against Princeton. It's the fewest points Monmouth has scored since getting just 33 against Notre Dame in 2007.
And their defense wasn’t any better, as Drexel (9-7, 3-1) hit 10 three-pointers, while center Amari Williams finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, leading a group of three players in double figures.
“Our kids are trying hard but we’re a little bit outmatched right now," Monmouth coach King Rice said. "Their bodies, how big they are and us being down a few guys right now it’s harder to compete, but our kids are out there trying hard, and we’re just trying to get better.”
Historically bad start
Monmouth equals the 1-15 start by the 1997-98 team for the second worst in program history, behind only the 0-19 start a year later. It’s the Hawks’ seventh straight double-digit loss after getting their only win of the season, and their 11th loss by 18 points or more.
Junior Forward Myles Foster, the one player who has been able to score consistently this season finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, both team highs.
Freshman guard Jack Collins, who had been their most reliable shooter early in the season, continued to struggle, going 1-of-8 from the floor. He's shooting just 23 percent (9-of-39) over the last five games, and 4-of-23 from three-point range. He wasn’t alone, with freshman center Amaan Sandhu the only player other than Foster to hit multiple shots from the floor, making two.
After scoring the game’s first nine points, Drexel extended its lead to 18-7 on a three-pointer by Mate Orkos. At that point the Dragons went on a 13-2 run, taking a 31-11 lead on a three-pointer by freshman guard Justin Moore, a Philadelphia native.
Monmouth's 14 first-half points is among its lowest first half total ever, after scoring 16 and 20 points in the first half against Yale and UNC Wilmington, respectively, during their recent homestand.
Drexel extended their advantage to 45-18 on a dunk by Williams early in the second half. Drexel had Monmouth doubled-up through a lot of the second half, going up 51-25 on a long three-pointer by Luke House with 11:28 to play. The lead stretched to 30 points at 55-25 on a jumper by Williams with 8:19 remaining, with Drexel leading by as many as 33 points.
Monmouth looks to get its first win in more than a month when it returns to the court Wednesday to face Hofstra in Hempstead, New York. After facing preseason favorite Towson in Maryland next Saturday, they return home to face No. 23 Charleston on Jan. 19.
Pregame
Can Monmouth rise from NCAA basketball abyss? As Drexel looms, dissecting a 1-14 start
After Monmouth retreated to the locker room long before the opening tip a OceanFirst Bank Center Thursday night, a group of players in street clothes remained on the court shooting baskets, including 6-9 Jarvis Vaughan, out since the preseason with a knee injury, 6-10 Tadhg Crowley, sidelined by a preseason concussion, and 6-9 Jaret Valencia.
Could they have made a difference for Monmouth this season?
We’ll never know. But what’s becoming clear at the midway point of the college basketball season is that Monmouth is among, if not the worst Division I team in the country right now.
At 1-14 heading into Saturday’s Colonial Athletic Association game at Drexel (2 p.m.; FloSports.com) in Philadelphia, it’s a precipitous fall-from-grace for a program coming off a 21-win season in which it lost the MAAC title to a Saint Peter’s team that went to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament, after getting a share of the regular season title a year earlier.
Monmouth is ranked 359 out of 363 teams in the NCAA’s NET rankings, and 354 out of 360 teams by KenPom. But no team is below Monmouth in both rankings, with 1-15 Mississippi Valley State, winless against Division I teams, moving ahead of them in the NET Friday.
There’s no relief in sight as the Hawks head into a brutal four-game stretch that begins with three tough road games, before hosting No. 23 Charleston on Jan. 19.
How did the Hawks arrive at this point?
1. Lack of experience
After losing seven seniors, including all five starters, four of whom were fifth-year seniors, the leadership void was massive. And Monmouth coach King Rice’s inability to land an experienced player who’s been in these situations via the transfer portal has played a major role.
Drexel freshman guard Justin Moore is surrounded by juniors and seniors, three of whom were starters last season. Monmouth starts two freshmen in guards Jack Collins and Andrew Ball, and sophomore guard Tahron Allen.
2. Not enough scoring
The biggest question coming into the season was where the points would come from as the roster was constructed, having failed to secure a proven scorer. And the lack of offensive firepower has been the most pressing issue so far.
Three-pointers are the most important weapon in college basketball these days, and Monmouth has hit just 67, while giving up 146. Monmouth’s offense ranks 349th out of 352 teams in scoring offense at 59.1 points. They’re 345th in field goal percentage and 344th in three-point percentage.
And it doesn't get any easier against Drexel, which ranks 25th nationally in total defense.
3. Slow development
When Stony Brook came to town Thursday there was hope that having a 300-plus KenPom opponent on your home court would be a good chance for a win. But it ended with another double-digit loss even though the game was tied with 10 minutes remaining.
A few of Monmouth’s youngsters have flashed their potential. But after 15 games, the coaching staff has yet to get this group to execute well enough, or buy in on the level of intensity required over a full 40 minutes. And now they face a top-200 KenPom team in Drexel with less than a 48-hour turnaround. Welcome to the CAA.
4. Poor scheduling
There had to be more games where this team could build a little confidence, instead of three high-majors and two 23-plus win teams from a year ago in the first five games. Through the first 14 games this season, Monmouth played four high-majors and 11 opponents in the KenPom top-200.
Last year’s tough preseason schedule was perfect, as a veteran Monmouth group got high-majors wins at Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, and knocked off some good mid-majors. This team has simply never been able to get its footing against that level of competition.
5. Now what?
It’s a tough spot. Barring an upset over the next two weeks, Monmouth will be 1-18 after the Charleston game. But Drexel, a KenPom 193, this is the softest spot Monmouth will have during that period, with Hofstra (129) and Towson (146) on the road, before Charleston (88) at home.
At the start of the season, the feeling was that the second half of the CAA schedule was when Monmouth needed to be playing its best and winning games. But at the midway point of the season, few, if any, teams are struggling as badly as the Hawks are right now.
Check back later Saturday afternoon for complete coverage of Monmouth's game at Drexel.
From Thursday
Monmouth basketball falls to Stony Brook, 67-56: Here are 5 takeaways
WEST LONG BRANCH – The calendar turned to 2023, but little changed for Monmouth when it returned to the court Thursday night.
While the Hawks rallied from a double-digit halftime deficit to pull even with Stony Brook, they were unable to finish the game off, falling, 67-56, at OceanFirst Bank Center Thursday night.
There was no moral victory in what on paper looked like one of Monmouth’s more winnable Colonial Athletic Association games, as the Hawks fall to 1-14, and 0-2 in the league.
Many of the issues that have dominated the narrative remained, including a lack of offensive firepower, shooting just 34 percent from the floor and 4-of-16 from three-point range, to go with some poor free throw shooting at important junctures.
“I thought we played well in spurts,” Monmouth coach King Rice said. “We started with a lot of energy. But what happens is when we don’t score our defense really, really suffers.
“We get all the way back and we just break down, so we’ve just got to try to put it together for 40 (minutes).”
It marks the third worst start in program history, with the 1-15 start from the 1997-98 season in view now. Monmouth started 0-19 in 1998-99.
Stony Brook (6-9, 2-0 CAA) was led by guard Frankie Policelli’s 17 points, while Kaine Roberts finished with 15 points.
Freshmen Andrew Ball scored a career-high 13 points, junior forward Myles Foster finished with 12 points and freshman guard Jack Collins added 10 for Monmouth, which returns to action Saturday (2 p.m.) when they take on Drexel in Philadelphia.
Unable to finish
The game began to slip away for Monmouth after Foster sank a pair of free throws to tie the game at 46-all midway through the second half. Stony Brook went on a 16-4 run, with a Keenan Fitzmorris three-pointer giving them a 62-50 advantage.
“We tie it and then we throw a no look pass and it gets stolen and they score, and now they’re ahead and we take a quick one and they come down and run their stuff and Frankie hits a three," Rice said. "When we don’t score, our defense doesn’t have the same intensity. We’re working on it. We’re trying to get everybody to understand it. Our defense has to create our offense. “
Monmouth put together a 12-0 run early in the second half that was fueled by its youngsters.
It started with a three-pointer by Collins, followed by a driving layup by Ball. Then it was Ball helping force a turnover that led to walk-on Jakari Spence feeding him for a dunk. Spence drained a triple and Ball made a steal and easy dunk to cut the deficit to 42-21, before Klemen Vuga tied the game at 42-all with a free throw with 14 minutes remaining.
Solid start
Monmouth went with a small starting lineup featuring four guards, including junior point guard Myles Ruth, sophomore Tahron Allen, and Collins and Ball. Meanwhile, Stony Brook’s frontcourt included 7-0 Fitzmorris, 6-10 Kenan Sarvan and 6-7 Policelli.
But Monmouth actually rallied from a 12-6 deficit thanks to its big men, as Vuga and forward Foster each scored inside, before a layup in transition by center Amaan Sandhu capped a 10-0 run to take a 16-12 lead.
Against UNC Wilmington last time out, Monmouth didn’t hit a three-pointer until the final minutes of the game. But Myles Ruth drained their first with 6:20 left in the first, giving Monmouth a 21-20 lead.
But it would be Monmouth’s final basket of the half, as Stony Brook regained the lead with an 8-0 run that included back-to-back triples. Monmouth hit just 5-of-10 free throws in the final four minutes of the half, as Stony Brook extended to 12 points at the break.
1. Game is slowing down for Ball
Making his second straight start, Ball had his best game at Monmouth, hitting half of his 10 shots, while just missing a double-double with nine rebounds. Most importantly, he did not turn the ball over in 28 minutes.
“Andrew is probably our most talented offensive player,” Rice said. “The game has really slowed down for him because now he can go and score. But when it slows down for him a little bit more Andrew can shoot it, he can put it on the floor, he gets assists, he makes you stay off of him.”
2. Battling on
Monmouth didn’t make enough shots, especially down the stretch. But they did play hard throughout.
“What I like about our group is that we are fighting,” Rice said. “We are trying to get it down. The kids had more energy today in the shootaround, in the locker room before the game. I thought we had a decent start with our energy.”
3. Shoddy free throw shooting
The charity stripe has been a problem for Monmouth all season. You can’t miss 10 free throws in a tight game. Misfires from the line, including five misses late in the first half and a pair of free throw misses by Ball with seven minutes to play in a five-point game allowed Stony Brook to pull away.
4. Tough road ahead
The Stony Brook game was important, because now Monmouth faces a four-game stretch against some of the CAA’s best. It begins with road games against Drexel, Hofstra, which has beaten them in each of the past five season, and Towson on the road, before returning home on Jan. 19 to face No. 23 Charleston, which would only be the second time a ranked team has played at Monmouth.
“I thought we played in spurts against Wilmington and again today, so I think we can compete,” Rice said. “But now we’re starting to get some of the big boys on their home court.”
5. Injury updates
As Monmouth got outrebounded by a 42-37 margin, another big body in the paint would help. But it does not appear 6-10 sophomore Tadhg Crowley will be returning in the near future, as he remains in concussion protocol after getting hit in the head during preseason.
“He’s still dealing with it and it is unfortunate for the kid,” Rice said. “He worked super hard to give himself a great chance this year.”
Rice also said 6-9 forward Jarvis Vaughan has been shooting but has yet to return to practice after suffering a knee injury in the preseason.
Pregame
Monmouth basketball: New Year’s resolutions, and why Stony Brook is a big game
WEST LONG BRANCH – There's a big game tonight at OceanFirst Bank Center.
I know, that doesn't sound possible since Monmouth is 1-13 and ranked 353 out of 363 teams by KenPom.
But if there’s a path forward, whatever that ends up looking like, in the new year, after what’s been an historically bad start, Stony Brook’s visit to the Jersey Shore (7 p.m./FloSports) has to be the starting point, as Monmouth’s first-ever Colonial Athletic Association season ramps up.
To recap, Monmouth has played 11 games against teams rated in the top-200 by KenPom, losing by double-digits in all but one, a five-point home loss to No. 196 Norfolk State.
So the seven remaining games against top-200 CAA teams figures to be really tough, including a Jan. 19 date with No. 23 College of Charleston, which would be only the second time a ranked team has played at OFBC. Villanova was No. 8 when it played there in 2010.
The Hawks have fared much better against teams 300 and above, winning at No. 330 Manhattan and losing by four points at No. 329 Lehigh.
At 318, Stony Brook is the first of six CAA games against teams with a KenPom above 300. Those are important, serving as realistic measuring sticks for a young team.
Then there’s a group of four games against teams in the 200-300 range, that will be tough to win, but not out of reach if Monmouth plays like it did in a competitive 68-55 loss to No. 111 UNC Wilmington last time out.
This ranks as the third worst start in program history, with two coming back-to-back during the worst seasons in program history record-wise. The Hawks went 4-23 during the 1997-98 season, with coach Wayne Szoke leaving, replaced by Dave Calloway, during a 1-15 start, and were 5-21 a year later, after starting 0-19.
The Hawks need to start showing growth on the court. The blueprint is the 2018-19 team, that was also 1-13. But from that team went 13-7 over its next 20 games, before losing to Iona in the MAAC Tournament title game.
Here are some New Year’s resolutions that can help make everyone feel better about where things are heading:
1. Tenacious defense
There should be no more 30-plus point loses. Not after Monmouth showed what it’s capable of on the defensive side against UNC Wilmington. Now they need to bring that same defensive intensity every minute of every game. Even if the Hawks shoot poorly, which they did against Wilmington, they should be in a lot of games.
2. Play faster
Monmouth coach King Rice said that increases in tempo on offense and trapping on defense were a byproduct of the players finally settling in and becoming more comfortable with their new roles this season. That trend needs to continue, with the faster pace giving the Hawks better looks on offense.
3. Pull off a stunner
If Monmouth wants to send a message that the program is progressing, securing a signature win would do the trick. And that means knocking off one of the top teams in the league. The first chance would be Saturday in Philadelphia when Monmouth visits No. 191 Drexel, with the Dragons coming to OFBC later this season.
4. Home court advantage
Monmouth has eight home games left. Win or lose, they must start sending a message to the rest of the league that emerging unscathed from OFBC is no easy task. It’s another reason why beating Stony Brook is so important.
5. Fight hard
No matter what happens, or how daunting the situation becomes, Monmouth can’t stop battling and let games get out of hand. It’s happened a few times this season, and learning from those experiences could be the most important lesson of all this season.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Monmouth NJ basketball: Drexel rolls, 67-35, as Hawks fall to 1-15
