Monmouth basketball falls to Syracuse, 86-71; Manasquan's Jack Collins hits for 20
For the better part of 30 minutes, Monmouth played its best basketball of the season, pushing Syracuse to the limit inside the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, New York Monday night.
And while it ultimately goes down as their tenth loss in 11 games this season, it was the kind of performance the young Hawks can build on.
Two nights after absorbing a 37-point loss at Princeton, Monmouth actually had a lead in the second half. The Orangemen eventually pulled away for an 86-71 victory, but the effort represented a step forward.
It was the most competitive Monmouth’s been in four games against high-major foes this season, having dropped the first three by an average of 37 points.
“I’m proud of these kids,” Monmouth coach King Rice said. “I’m happy that they continue to fight. I ask our fans to please stay with us. These kids are incredible. We’ve had a hard schedule. I never make excuses but all of them had the flu last week, we didn’t practice and Princeton whipped us.
“This is going to be a good team. We just have to keep believing, I’ve got to keep believing in them, and they have to believe in each other.”
'We were right there for 30 minutes or more'
Monmouth took a 52-51 lead on a three-pointer by freshman guard Jack Collins with 15 minutes to play. But Syracuse (7-4), winners of four straight, went on a 15-2 run to take control of the game.
Collins, a Manasquan native, was on target throughout, finishing with 20 points, hitting five shots from beyond the arc. Junior forward Myles Foster added 17 points.
“This is a great game for us,” Collins said. “It’s a huge stage, a big game, a lot of great players on the other team. And we were right there for 30 minutes or more. So it is just about finishing for us.
“We don’t have a lot of people who believe in us outside, but we know as a group we can compete with anybody when we put it all together. We’re still really young but it’s starting to come. We’re playing a lot of these high major teams and it’s going to be good later when we get into conference games.”
Guard Judah Mintz led the way for Syracuse with 24 points, while guard Joseph Gerard III added 16 points.
The level of competition drops very little when Monmouth returns to West Long Branch, with Charlotte, sporting an 8-2 record, coming to OceanFirst Bank Center Saturday, followed by a visit from 8-3 Yale, which lost to Kentucky by 10 points Saturday. And that’s before UNC Wilmington, 8-3, shows up on Dec. 28 for Monmouth’s first-ever CAA game.
Monmouth came out fast, as Klemen Vuga, who got the start at center, hit a pair of baskets inside, before Collins drained back-to-back triples to give Monmouth a 10-4 lead.
The Hawks moved the ball well against the Syracuse matchup zone, with a Collins entry pass to Foster leading to a layup that pulled them within 24-21.
At one point Monmouth hit seven straight shots, and a Jakari Spence jumper made it 9-of-11 to extend the lead to 38-33 with 2:25 remaining. But Girard drained a pair of late 3-pointers allowing Syracuse to get to the locker room with a 42-40 lead.
3 quotes from King Rice:
On Monmouth’s execution against the Syracuse zone
“I’ve got to give coach (Rick) Callahan a lot of credit for scouting them and knowing how we could attack them. Our kids did a tremendous job just taking our time instead of just rushing like we’re always rushing trying to prove something. I tried to explain to them, you’ve already proven yourself just by being here. Just relax and play. Take your time and we can pick it apart. And we did a tremendous job against the zone.”
On Jack Collins’ infectious confidence
“We tried to get everybody to relax. We’ve been too tight and guys aren’t playing like themselves. And we tried to loosen them up today, loosen them up in the pregame talk. And Jack is just a confident kid but tonight he kind of got us going because his confidence was so high it made everyone else confident.”
On responding to the Princeton loss
“We all felt awful the other night because that was not OK how we responded at Princeton. Even knowing we were sick all week, you never do that. A lot of people are watching and we didn’t fight. And that’s letting everyone down. So we had an off night where we didn’t fight like we should, but these kids are fighters and they keep showing you that they are fighters.”
Pregame
Why Monmouth basketball's 1-9 start is unsettling; plus 5 keys vs. Syracuse
Let’s forget the games against high-majors, of which tonight’s at Syracuse (8 p.m./ACC Network) will be Monmouth’s fourth of the season. Those have the potential to go badly even for top Monmouth teams over the years.
The unsettling losses are the ones that hit closest to home – literally.
Saturday night’s game at Princeton was the 22nd time the two Central Jersey rivals have met since then Monmouth coach Wayne Szoke, a former Pete Carrill assistant, set up the first meeting in 1991.
It’s been a great series ever since. When Princeton knocked defending national champion UCLA out of the 1996 NCAA Tournament, Monmouth had beaten the Tigers during the regular season. During the Hawks’ 12-game winless streak to open the 2018-19 season, they dropped a one-possession decision to Princeton.
But the 91-54 loss at at Jadwin Gym was the most lopsided result in the series. Cairn University, a Division 3 program, only lost to Princeton by 34 points 10 days earlier.
Then there’s Rider, a staple of Monmouth’s schedule over the past four decades. None of the previous 59 meetings had been decided by more than 21 points. But the Broncs hammered them by 26 points on Nov. 30.
This young group may well develop into a good team. But right now they’re struggling like few Monmouth teams ever have.
None of this is the fault of the players, mind you. Coach King Rice set the incredibly difficult schedule which, combined with injuries - 6-9 junior Jarvis Vaughan is expected to return from a knee injury in the coming weeks - and an inability to land an experienced player and/or scorer in the NCAA transfer portal has led to a 1-9 start.
Three tough non-conference games remain, before they get into their first Colonial Athletic Association season. There’s a chance they won’t be favored in a game the rest of the season.
With that as the backdrop, here are five keys for Monmouth against Syracuse. And check back later Monday night for analysis of the game:
1. Stop fouling
Freshman center Amaan Sandhu had five fouls in five minutes, and he and fellow big man Klemen Vuga each had two fouls by the first media timeout. Monmouth committed 23 fouls, and Princeton took 27 free throws. It’s impossible to move forward when you’re in foul trouble every game.
2. Compete
Monmouth’s lost its first three high-major games by an average of 37 points. While Syracuse has played better recently, they lost to Bryant and Colgate at home. There’s a path to being competitive here.
3. Help inside
This will be as tough an assignment in the paint as Monmouth will face all season. Syracuse senior center Jesse Edwards is averaging 15.6 points and 11.4 rebounds, while 6-9 forward Benny Williams and 6-7 forward Chris Bell round out a stout frontcourt.
4. Small wins
Try to win a four-minute segment. Then try to outscore Syracuse to the next media timeout, and so on. Because Monmouth has to start stringing together some smaller wins in order to get some longer runs of good play.
5. Lean on experiences
Play like you’ve been there before, because you have. Monmouth's played 10 games in some of the toughest places to play in the country, which should help at Syracuse. Everyone on the roster has played extensive minutes this season.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Monmouth NJ basketball falls to Syracuse, 86-71
