Monmouth falls at Delaware, 84-80, losing 9th straight on road despite 24 from Xander Rice

The beat goes on for Monmouth basketball. Literally, because the Hawks got beat for a ninth straight time away from home, falling to Delaware, 84-80, Saturday at the Carpenter Center in Newark, Delaware.

And so continues the dichotomy between the Hawks’ performances at home and on the road, having not won away from the Jersey Shore since beating West Virginia on Nov. 10. Meanwhile, they’re 9-1 at OceanFirst Bank Center in West Long Branch, where they’re riding a nine-game winning streak.

This time it was a chaotic, controversial endgame that saw a series of late calls go against Monmouth, which rallied from a nine-point deficit with less than three minutes to play to pull within a point in the final seconds.

The end result is Monmouth (12-11, 5-5 CAA) remains in the middle of the pack in the tightly-packed Coastal Athletic Association standings. The Hawks are 0-5 in road CAA games this season, and 2-12 since joining the league a year ago, missing an opportunity for what would have been their best league win to date.

Even Xander Rice couldn’t save Monmouth in this one. The graduate guard, who came in tied for the CAA scoring lead (21.6 ppg.) on the strength of some late-game heroics, missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 14 seconds to play, and Monmouth never got another chance to pull even.

A free throw by Rice with 6.7 seconds left made it 81-78, but Delaware’s Gerald Drumgoole missed the front end of another one-and-one, with Monmouth’s Jakari Spence getting fouled with 2.8 seconds left, hitting both to make it a one-point game. But Monmouth was then called for an intentional foul before the inbounds pass was thrown, with Drumgoole making one free throw, and Delaware getting the ball back.

Monmouth head coach King Rice was clearly upset by the decision, and while he didn’t address any play specifically in his postgame radio interview, Rice said, “it’s just unfortunate that people that are hired to know the rules don’t know the rules.”

Xander Rice finished with 24 points, while center Nikita Konstantynovskyi had 14 points and eight rebounds, and Jack Collins finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Delaware (14-9, 6-4) was led by Zyare Davis, with the 6-7 forward finishing with a double-double, scoring 19 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.

A late rally

A tip-in of his own miss by Spence pulled Monmouth within 76-71 with 1:53 remaining, and a Rice triple with 1:05 left cut Delaware’s lead to 78-74. A steal in the backcourt by Jaret Valencia resulted in a pair of free throws for Robinson with 49 seconds left, but he misfired on both shots. Niels Lane then hit two free throws at the other end, before Rice sank three free throws with 35.8 seconds left, pulling his team within one score at 80-77.

After a Monmouth timeout, Robinson got a hand on the inbound pass intended for Davis, and it was ruled Monmouth basketball. But after a lengthy replay review, the ball was given to Delaware. Monmouth then fouled Drumgoole, who missed the front end of a one-and-one, with Spence racing the ball up the court, with King Rice called a timeout with 19.9 seconds left.

After Monmouth took a 62-60 lead on a pair of rice free throws with 9:29 to play, Delaware went on a big run that started with its defense. After Drumgoole Jr. sank a 3-pointer, it was Davis sinking a free throw after getting fouled inside, before he scored inside on their next trip downcourt to push the lead to 68-62. Then Delaware’s Tyler Houser, who hit a 3-pointer earlier in the half, blocked a Konstantynovskyi shot inside, which led to a Lane score in transition at the other end. After a Jack Collins 3-pointer, Houser answered with a triple of his own to give Delaware a 73-65 lead.

Down 74-67, Robinson Jr. missed the front end of a one-and-one, before Davis snared an offensive rebound away from Robinson at the other end and scored to push the lead to nine points.

Pregame:

Can Monmouth basketball contend for CAA title? 3 keys as big road test looms at Delaware

Monmouth’s got the whole home game thing down pretty well, with Thursday’s win over Drexel the ninth straight at OceanFirst Bank Center in West Long Branch.

The road? Not so much.

To build on the momentum generated by two big CAA wins at the Jersey Shore, the Hawks will have to snap an eight-game road skid in Newark, Delaware Saturday (2 p.m.; FloSports.com). Monmouth (12-10, 5-4 CAA) and Delaware (13-9, 5-4) are part of a five-way tie for fifth place within the tightly packed 14-team table, 2.5 games behind first place Drexel with nine games remaining.

A quick check of the NET rankings shows Monmouth has actually traveled to some tough places, including losses at: Oklahoma (27 NET); Seton Hall (66); Cornell (81); George Mason (97); UNC Wilmington (107); Drexel (110); and Charleston (120). Delaware checks in at 140 through Thursday’s games, while Monmouth is 176.

While wins over Towson, Hofstra and Drexel have shown Monmouth can compete with the league’s top teams, a year after finishing last in its first season, scoring a big road win would check a very important box. The Hawks have one bad road loss at Stony Brook (203 NET), but did win at West Virginia (145) on Nov. 10.

More: Monmouth tops CAA leader Drexel, 67-62, on Xander Rice's late heroics; 3 takeaways

Here’s why today’s game with Delaware is so important. Over the final eight regular season games, Monmouth will be favored in all but one, with Towson owning a 17-game home winning streak and a NET of 138. The other seven games are against William & Mary (328), Northeastern (244), Campbell (308), Stony Brook (203), North Carolina A&T (330), Hampton (355) and Elon (314).

It’s not a bad position to be in for a team picked to finish 11th. And if they’re able to pull off a road win today, you could project them to win at least 18 regular season games.

Here are three keys for Monmouth against Delaware:

1.  Get to the endgame

If it’s a close game in the final minutes, you have to like Monmouth’s chances given what you’ve seen from Xander Rice. The graduate guard has put the team on his shoulders and carried them to wins over Northeastern, Hofstra and Drexel, and scored 30 points at West Virginia.

He hits clutch 3-pointers and draws fouls – Monmouth is 6-0 in games Rice goes to the free throw line at least 10 times - and is among the top free throw shooters in the league.

2. Stop Blue Hens’ star

Jyare Davis, Delaware’s 6-7 forward, is averaging 18.3 points and 7.0 rebounds, and he’s shooting 89 percent from the free throw line. The job of containing Davis will fall to a combination of 6-6 Jack Collins, 6-9 Jaret Valencia and 6-6 Cornelius Robinson Jr., as the Hawks seek to defense one of the CAA’s most dangerous players.

He had 15 points and five rebounds in a 70-62 loss to Monmouth last season in West Long Branch.

3. Pound it inside

Delaware does not have much size in its rotation, with no starter taller than 6-7. It could be an opportunity for Monmouth to get 6-10 center Nikita Konstantynovskyi back on track, having scored just 19 points total over the past three games, and has single digits in four of the last five games.

Some of Monmouth’s wins, including Belmont, Rider and Manhattan, trace directly to Konstantynovskyi’s ability to dominate inside.

Delaware’s Christian Ray, a 6-6 guard, is second in the CAA in rebounding at 8.9 rebounds-per-game.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Monmouth NJ falls at Delaware, 84-80, losing 9th straight on road