Monmouth basketball thrashed by Marist, 84-48, as Hawks lose third straight

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – It all seems like an eternity ago. The seven-game winning streak. The 10-2 start that ranked as the best in program history. The high-major wins, another near-miss and the seven road wins.

Because Monmouth bore no resemblance to that team Sunday.

In losing its third straight, Monmouth was never in the game against Marist, going down 46 points as the second half wore on en route to a humiliating 84-48 defeat at the McCann Center.

At this point, the heroics of November and December are squarely in the rearview mirror.

“I said coming out of the break we weren’t right,” Monmouth head coach King Rice said. “We haven’t been right since before the break, and after the break usually it takes us a little while but this is different. We’re not a very together group right now and it showed today and we have to get it back.”

Bad timing to face Iona, Rick Pitino

How dramatically have things changed?

A week ago, everyone had Tuesday’s showdown with MAAC power Iona circled as a first-place showdown, with Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino’s Gaels the lone unbeaten team remaining in the league.

Now Monmouth (10-5, 2-2) will simply be trying to stop the bleeding after a disastrous performance in which they shot just 28 percent from the floor and missed all but two of 20 attempts from 3-point range, while allowing Marist to hit at 58 percent, connecting on 10 from beyond the arc.

Bad to worse

Unlike Friday night’s loss at Saint Peter’s, when the Hawks came from 12 down to pull within a basket in the final minute, there was no rally. After going down 24 points at halftime it only got worse.

And unlike two nights earlier, when Marist (8-8, 3-4) blew a 17-point lead at home in a loss to Siena Friday night, the Red Foxes were not about to let this one slip away. Freshman guard Jao Ituka scored the first eight points of the second half and they were never challenged, stretching the lead to 54-22.

“It’s my fault, because I’m the head coach and you don’t think it should happen with an older group,” said Rice, who has four fifth-year seniors in the starting lineup. “But this is some people’s first time having that kind of success when you are the main guy and people come after you differently. You have to find new ways of doing things and not just banging against the wall.

“We’re trying to prove things to people the wrong way. Instead of doing it with our defense and our togetherness, we’re trying to do it one-on-on. And as you can see we’re not very good one-on-one.”

The only drama after that was whether or not Monmouth could stay within 50 points in what was the program's worst conference loss since joining the MAAC in 2013-14.

Leading the way for Marist was Ituka, who finished with 28 points, while Richard Wright added 24.

Sophomore guard Myles Ruth led Monmouth with 11 points, while fifth-year senior guard Shavar Reynolds finished with 10. George Papas, who entered the game averaging a team-best 16.6 points, scored just five points.

No answers on court

When Samkelo Cele’s short jumper increased Marist’s lead to 56-23 with 16:20 to play, Rice began putting some of his younger players in the lineup, as any hope of actually winning faded. When they returned from the under 16-minute media timeout, the lineup included a freshman and three sophomores.

This one was over almost before it began.

Wright found the range early, hitting a pair of 3-pointers as he scored a quick eight points to give Marist a 13-6 lead at the first media timeout. A steal by and driving layup by Cele extended the advantage to 15-7, before sophomore forward Javon Cooley drained a 3-pointer to up Marists advantage to 18-7.

Meanwhile, Monmouth was ice cold, hitting just 3-of-19 through the first 10 minutes, missing all eight from 3-point range.

But after going down by 15 points, the Hawks went on an 8-3 run to climb back within 28-18.

Then Cele took over, scoring nine points in less than 90 seconds, before Wright hit a 3-pointer and a runner in the paint and Ituka banked one home at the buzzer to give Marist a 46-22 halftime lead.

Game preview: 3 keys as Hawks look to snap two-game skid Sunday

Monmouth’s home loss to Hofstra back on Dec. 22 was easy to shrug off as simply the end of a wildly successful non-conference schedule.

And Friday night's MAAC loss at Saint Peter's was, after all, Monmouth’s first game in 23 days due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

But three straight losses, with Iona coming to town Tuesday?

That’s when the feel-good vibe surrounding a team that raced out to a 10-2 start, including two high-major wins, starts to fade.

And that’s why Sunday’s game (2 p.m./ESPN+) at Marist is wildly important for the Hawks, as head coach King Rice and his senior-laden rotation seek to steady the ship.

But if Monmouth (10-4, 2-1) can win it’s eighth road game of the season in Poughkeepsie, New York, it would put itself in a position to pull even with the Gaels in the loss column at OceanFirst Bank Center two days later.

Marist (7-6, 2-4) is coming off a loss to Siena Friday n which the Red Foxes blew a 17-point second half lead, as Siena closed the game with a 34-10 run over the final 12 minutes.

Freshman guard Jao Ituka scored 20 points in 22 minutes against Siena, and averages 13.6 points. Sophomore guard Ricardo Wright averages 14.3 points and 4.6 rebounds, while senior guard Matt Herasme leads the team in rebounding.

Marist was without senior guard Raheem Sullivan, averaging 9.3 points, against Siena.

Here are three keys for Monmouth against Marist. And check back Sunday afternoon for complete coverage:

1. Ramp up intensity

It was the only thing Rice was interested in talking about after Friday’s loss, continuing to circle back to the lack of intensity his team exhibited in its return to the court after a COVID-19 layoff. Monmouth scored the game’s first five points before Saint Peter’s took control with a 10-0 run and never looked back, opening up a 12-point advantage in each half.

“Teams are going to come after us and if we don’t stand up then we’re going to lose,” Rice said. “That’s what we do. Who was the aggressors? We’re always the aggressors. Tonight we weren’t. We have to be more intense on Sunday or (Marist coach) John (Dunne’s) team will do the same thing.”

2. Battle on boards

After winning the rebounding battle in each of its first 11 games, Monmouth’s been outrebounded in three straight games. In those three games, Monmouth’s 1-2, with the win coming in via a second-half surge against Colgate.

And it’s at both ends of the court. Saint Peter’s got 18 offensive rebounds that resulted in 12 second-chance points.

Monmouth outrebound St. John’s on the road last month, getting 15 offensive rebounds that led to 16 points in a Big East building. That’s the kind commitment to dominating the glass the Hawks need moving forward.

3. Speed it up

Monmouth had 19 fast break points against Colgate in its last win. The Hawks have had 14 fast break points combined in their last two games, both losses.

Just look at some of Monmouth’s best performances this season. They had 15 fast break points in a win at Towson, now 11-5 and coming off a win over Hofstra. In a win at St. Joseph’s they scored 14 points on the break, and 13 in a win at Cincinnati and 15 in a near-miss at St. John’s.

Monmouth is at its best when running. When it’s forcing turnovers with a pressure defense and upping the tempo. They’re 6-1 this season when scoring 75 points or more. The faster they play, the better.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Monmouth NJ basketball thrashed by Marist, 84-48