Emotional storylines dominate Monmouth Senior Day, as Hawks roll to 13th straight home win
WEST LONG BRANCH – Monmouth’s season has revolved around some incredibly compelling storylines, and they were all on display during the pregame Senior Day ceremony at OceanFirst Bank Center Saturday.
What’s always an important moment for any college basketball coach was incredibly special for King Rice, with his son Xander’s scoring and leadership since using his final season of eligibility to return home and play for his dad altered the direction of the program.
Now the team that started last season 1-20 has its 16th win, an 83-67 victory over North Carolina A&T, as the Hawks’ equaled the program record with their 13th straight home win.
“There were a lot of emotions obvious,” said Xander Rice, a contender for CAA Player of the Year after starring at Bucknell for four years, who banked in a 40-footer to end the half that was similar to his game-winning buzzer-beater versus Campbell two weeks ago. “I’ve lived here since I was 10 and I think to myself before every game how thankful I am that I get this extra opportunity to really represent the city I grew up in, the school I grew up in, in a gym that raised me. I wouldn’t have this opportunity without Monmouth University having my dad be the coach here and allowing my family to integrate into the culture here.”
“I was hoping I wasn’t going to cry,” King Rice said.
But that was only one of the subplots during an emotional afternoon:
There was Nikita Konstantynovskyi, the 6-10 graduate center from Kiev, Ukraine, escorted out for the ceremony by his Ukrainian flag-waving aunt. Konstantynovskyi, a graduate transfer from Tulsa, has provided a solid presence in the paint all season, despite dealing with the impact the war with Russia is having on his family.
“Nikita’s brother is dealing with that war,” King Rice said. “He is sitting here, Republicans, Democrats, don’t want to send the money, send the money. Nikita’s brother, a bomb hit right next to him the other day. His coat caught on fire. He was that close to losing his life. And Nikita’s over here playing ball. He’s like, ‘can I get you out of there?’ because his brother volunteered. His brother said 'I’ve got to protect the homeland.’ ”
Rice was emotional during the introduction of reserve graduate guard Jack Holmstrom, whose father played for Rice when he was assistant coach at Southern Illinois. Holmstrom was part of an all-senior starting lineup, draining a pair of 3-pointers in the opening 50 seconds.
“The relationship I built with his father and his mother – for him walking out there, that one almost got me,” Rice said.
Also in the starting lineup was Braedan Allen, a converted lacrosse player in his first season with the team who Xander Rice told his father Saturday morning he wanted to give up his starting spot to, since Monmouth has six seniors. Allen had a blocked shot early, and scored four points in the closing minutes.
“Braedan has been incredible on a daily basis,” King Rice said. “He comes in here and challenges our guys every day. So for my son to understand the importance of that and say, ‘why don’t you let Braedan start in my spot,’ that one really hit me.”
Senior forward Klemen Vuga was also in the starting lineup, scoring two quick buckets inside as Monmouth jumped out to a quick 10-3 edge.
All of Monmouth's seniors, except for Rice, have another year of eligibility remaining if they choose to use it.
King Rice said that the team was playing with a heavy heart with redshirt sophomore guard Jayden Doyle having lost his mother last week. Doyle, from Knoxville, Tennessee, was at the game but did not play due to a bruised heel sustained in practice.
As for the game, Monmouth (16-13, 9-7 CAA) has now secured at least a .500 league record in its second CAA season, and its seed at the CAA Tournament will depend on its ability to break an 11-game road losing streak. The Hawks take on Hampton Thursday before closing the regular season at Elon two days later. They’re currently in seventh place, and would have to win out and get help to move up to the fifth or sixth seed, which would likely mean avoiding Charleston or UNC Wilmington in the quarterfinals.
“Our guys are obviously more comfortable at home – it’s been driving all of us crazy how we’ve been on the road,” King Rice said. “Boog (Cornelius Robinson Jr.), Abdi (Bashir Jr.) and Jaret (Valencia) are all freshmen. Jack Collins is a sophomore, even though he seems like he’s 40 because he plays so hard and does so many good things, and you truly have to learn to win it on the road.
“I’ve got just get them to get lost in the game when we’re on the road. I think guys think about numbers more than when we’re at home and if they just get lost in the game that is when they play their best ball and hopefully this last week we’re going to get lost in the game.”
PREGAME
Monmouth basketball seeks 13th straight home win: 3 keys vs North Carolina A&T
WEST LONG BRANCH – Everyone knows the numbers. Monmouth’s won 12 straight games at home, and lost 11 straight on the road, as the Hawks careen towards the finish of what looks more and more like a .500 season.
Not so bad for a team that started 1-20 a year ago. But you’re also left with a feeling that an incredible opportunity might be slipping away, with some signature wins, compelling storylines and a whole lot of potential compromised by the young team’s inability to get over the hump away from home.
Monmouth (15-13, 8-7 CAA) can equal the program record for consecutive home wins Saturday (2 p.m.; NBC Sports Philadelphia/FloSports.com) against North Carolina A&T (7-21, 5-10) at OceanFirst Bank Center in its final game on campus, closing the regular season with a pair of road games before the CAA Tournament gets underway.
The Hawks enter the day in a tie for seventh place. And while they’re only a game behind sixth-place Delaware, they lose the tiebreaker based on a head-to-head loss to the Blue Hens. So it likely means having to face CAA leaders Charleston or UNC Wilmington in the quarterfinals.
With all that said, the home finale should be about celebrating a team that’s been an awful lot of fun to watch at OFBC, and the seniors who helped make it all possible.
It will be the final appearance for Xander Rice in the arena he honed his game in growing up, with the son of Monmouth head coach King Rice a contender for CAA Player of the Year after deciding to use his final season of eligibility to return home and play for his father.
Rice is one of six players who will be honored on Senior Day, with the other five all having a year of eligibility remaining if they choose to come back, including: Starting center Nikita Konstantynovskyi; starting guard Jakari Spence; reserve guard Jack Holmstrom; reserve forward Klemen Vuga; and reserve forward Braedan Allen.
Here are three keys for Monmouth against North Carolina A&T:
1. Start fast
The Aggies have lost six straight and are 2-12 on the road this season. But they do have five CAA wins this season, so they can be dangerous. The Hawks needs to start fast, because the longer they let them hang around, the more confident they’ll get. It begins on the defensive end against a team ranked last in the league offensively, after the Hawks allowed a Towson team that ranks next-to-last in offense to score 80 points.
2. Contain Aggies’ star
Landon Glasper, a 6-2 sophomore guard, is one of the league’s most prolific scorers, averaging 21 ppg. He’s scored as many as 35 points, and is the one player capable of leading an upset. Containing him has to be the top priority, because if he gets hot it makes this an interesting game.
3. Finish strong
Monmouth’s got three games to build momentum heading into the conference tournament. They close out the regular season with road games at Hampton and Elon, where breaking their road schneid will be imperative. And finishing out the home schedule in style with a solid performance in winning a 13th straight at home would certainly help that process.
FROM THURSDAY
Monmouth basketball loses 11th straight on road, falling at Towson, 80-61: 3 takeaways
It was a tough ask, for sure, as Monmouth, losers of 10 straight on the road, visited Towson, winner of 19 of its last 20 games at TU Arena in Towson, Maryland.
And despite having beaten Towson earlier this season at home, where they’ve won 12 straight, Monmouth could not come up with its first road win since Nov. 10. Not even close.
Instead, it was Towson (17-11, 10-5 CAA) building a 16-point first-half lead and cruising to a 80-61 victory, as Monmouth was unable to seize on an opportunity to move up in the CAA standings. After outrebounding Towson in the first meeting, Monmouth got hammered on the glass, 43-24.
“You had to be ready for the fight and Towson showed us what a CAA rock fight looks like,” said Monmouth head coach King Rice in his postgame radio interview.
“Today we ran into a big, strong Towson team that was ready for us and they showed us they didn’t like us beating them the first time.”
Towson guard Tyler Tejada, a freshman from Teaneck, was virtually unstoppable, hitting a for a career-high 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting.
Monmouth (15-13, 8-7 CAA), which could have moved up with a victory, remains in a seventh-place tie. The loss all but eliminates any chance of Monmouth getting one of the top four seeds at the CAA Tournament, which get a double-bye straight through to the quarterfinals. And Monmouth, which closes its home schedule Saturday against North Carolina A&T, still has two road games remaining.
Monmouth got 16 points from Xander Rice, but it wasn’t nearly enough, as Rice hit just 4-of-17 from the floor.
After giving up just 43 points in their win over Towson, the Hawks gave up 44 points in the first half alone, going into the locker room trailing by 12 points.
It was a 9-2 run that gave the Tigers some breathing room, with Tomiwa Sulaiman hitting a corner 3-pointer to put his team up 24-15 at the 8:49 mark. The lead swelled 23 points in the second half.
Here are three takeaways:
1. Crazy streak continues
It was the latest example of how wildly divergent Monmouth’s performances are at home and one the road. In West Long Branch on Jan. 4, Monmouth outrebounded Towson, 45-42. On the road, Towson dominated inside, doubling up Monmouth in rebounds at one point in the second half. Towson scored 15 second chance points off 14 offensive rebounds.
“It started right away. They started with four offensive rebounds on the first two plays,” King Rice said.
Monmouth's last road win was on Nov. 10 at West Virginia, which makes it that much harder to comprehend that the team’s gone as long as it has without winning.
2. Still a lot to play for
While a top-4 seed is highly unlikely at this point, Monmouth can still get a good seed if it can win its final three regular season games. And getting up to the fifth or sixth seed would likely mean avoiding either Charleston or UNC Wilmington in the quarterfinals.
But that means winning on the road, with games at Hampton, which has been playing better, including a win over Towson last week, and Elon.
3. Last home game is huge
The home finale is now incredibly important, as they look to equal a program record with a 13th consecutive win in West Long Branch. It will also be the final time for home fans to see Xander Rice, who has put on an incredible show at home this season. His heroics have almost single-handedly won several games for them. Combined with Jakari Spence’s buzzer-beater against Northern Illinois, its’s been an incredibly exciting year at Ocean First Bank Center.
PREGAME
Can Monmouth basketball cure road woes? Hawks take 10 game skid to Towson as CAA heats up
It’s been 103 days since Monmouth won a road game. Ten straight times they’ve taken the court and fallen short in another team’s arena. And yet the Hawks still find themselves in a descent position with four games left before the CAA Tournament because they’ve won 12 in-a-row at home.
Which brings us to tonight’s game at TU Arena in Towson, Maryland (7 p.m.; FloSports.com), where Towson's won 19 of its last 20, making it the toughest place to play in the CAA. Because if Monmouth can get off the schneid in the first of three remaining road games, there could be a path to a top-4 seed, which puts you straight into the quarterfinals.
Monmouth (15-12, 8-6 CAA), currently alone in seventh in the CAA standings, is behind three teams at 9-5, including Towson. And all three, including Delaware and Hofstra, have at least two games remaining against CAA leaders Charleston (11-3), UNC Wilmington (10-4) and Drexel (10-4), with Hofstra playing all three down the stretch.
After Towson, Monmouth has by far the easiest schedule of the group, with its three remaining opponents sitting near the bottom of the 362 Division 1 teams ranked in the NET, including North Carolina A&T (337), Hampton (348) and Elon (306). But the last two are away from home, and if Monmouth can’t find a cure for its road woes it will finish closer to 11th place, where it was picked to finish in the preseason.
“We have two weeks left. We have four games. Win all four you put yourself in the mix,” Monmouth head coach King Rice said. “We haven’t had a lot of success on the road. We had one big one on the road (winning at West Virginia on Nov. 10). Towson had an 18-game winning streak until Delaware beat them.
More: Monmouth basketball pounds Stony Brook, as Hawks win 12th straight at home: 3 takeaways
“We’re going to walk into the craziest game – it might not be the craziest crowd – because we beat them this year (51-43 on Jan. 4). They’re going to be super ready but my guys are growing. Just the law of averages you’re going to win one on the road sooner or later.”
Here are three keys for Monmouth at Towson. And check back later tonight for analysis as the Hawks try to snap their 10-game road losing streak:
1. Win inside
When Monmouth and Towson played in what was the CAA opener, Towson was No. 1 in the country in rebounding, grabbing on average 11.8 more rebounds. But Monmouth outrebounded them, 45-42, in the best effort of the season on the glass, with sophomore guard Jack Collins getting a career-high 13, and graduate center Nikita Konstantynovskyi pulling down nine.
Towson’s 6-7 graduate forward Charles Thompson had 12 rebounds in that game and is third in the CAA at 8.2 rebounds-per-game, while Konstantynovskyi, a 6-10 graduate center coming off a 20-rebound game against Stony Brook, is sixth at 7.6. He also had 22 points, giving him the fourth 20-plus double-double in program history.
2. Balanced scoring
Monmouth needs its underclassmen to step up in a hostile environment. Collins, redshirt freshman forward Jaret Valencia, who picked up back-to-back CAA Rookie of the Week honors, freshman guard Abdi Bashir Jr. and freshman forward Cornelius Robinson Jr. all have key roles in the rotation. No matter how much scoring graduate guard Xander Rice does – he’s averaging 21.1 points – it won’t matter if everyone’s not pulling their weight.
3. Stay close
Time and again it’s been Xander Rice coming through with huge plays late in games to save Monmouth. Rice scored the Hawks’ final 16 points to take down Towson in their first meeting. He scored 14 straight points for Monmouth late to beat Drexel, and sank three free throws with two seconds left to beat Hofstra. And who can forget his two 3-pointers in the final 3.2 seconds, part of a 37-point outburst, in last week's win over Campbell.
If they can keep it close, Rice gives them a chance to win.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Monmouth NJ basketball vs North Carolina A&T in key CAA game
