Monmouth basketball overpowers Rider: 3 takeaways from 77-71 win

WEST LONG BRANCH – When Rider routed Monmouth at the Broncs’ Zoo in Lawrenceville last season, part of a 1-20 start, the Hawks ranked among the worst teams in the country both shooting and scoring.

A year later, the offensive firepower the Hawks’ restructured rotation can generate was on full display in a 77-71 victory over their Central Jersey rivals at OceanFirst Bank Center Saturday.

The fact that leading scorer Xander Rice was held 13 points below his average mattered little, with a growing array of scoring options available. Leading the way was graduate center Nikita Konstantnyovskyi, who registered a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while redshirt freshman forward Jaret Valencia added 16 and sophomore guard Jack Collins chipped in with 14 points. And 6-7 freshman guard Abdi Bashir Jr. had nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from long range, and is now 22-of-34 (64.7 percent) for the season.

Monmouth shot 51 percent from the field, while sinking 11 shots from beyond the 3-point arc.

“We obviously have Alexander scoring a lot of points for us, but that doesn’t mean the other guys can’t score the ball the way they did today,” Monmouth coach King Rice said. “That is a credit to them for being selfless and not worrying about points and other things.

“On a night like this where they were charged up - Xander got them for 25 a couple of times when he was at Bucknell - so I knew (Baggett) was coming with something. But all of these kids can score and I have been saying this the whole time.”

A Mervin James drive cut Monmouth’s lead to single-digits at 75-67 with 2:41 to play. But Jakari Spence answered with a bucket at the other end to push the lead back to 10 points.

Monmouth (6-5) gives itself a chance to finish its tough non-conference schedule with a winning record. The Hawks host Manhattan next Thursday, before traveling to Oklahoma for a New Year’s Eve afternoon clash with the Sooners. Coastal Athletic Association play gets underway Jan. 4 with Towson’s visit to the Jersey Shore.

“This group has been incredible from the beginning," King Rice said. "This is a special year for me with my son (Xander) playing for me – this group is fun and we’re young."

Rider got 18 points from James and 15 points from Allen Powell, as the Broncs fall to 2-8.

Fast opening

Monmouth started quickly as the second half got underway, extending a 44-37 lead to 51-40 on a Collins 3-pointer off a feed from Rice.

But Rider kept hanging around, cutting the lead to seven before Monmouth extended it again. This time it was a 16-6 run, with a Valencia 3-pointer, followed by another score less than a minute later, gave Monmouth its biggest lead at 67-50 midway through the half.

Monmouth got off to a fast start in the first half as well, scoring its first eight points of the game off turnovers, with the defense jumpstarting the offense early. And it was Valencia catching fire early, hitting three from beyond the arc early on, including two in the opening 80 seconds. This third gave Monmouth a 16-9 lead.

Rice went deep with his starters, building a 20-13 lead before the first substitutions. And when Bashir Jr. came off the bench, he connected on two triples in 38 seconds to give the Hawks a 26-15 edge with 10:29 left in the half.

Rider took the lead on a Corey McKeithan 3-pointer with 6:25 on the clock, before Monmouth went on a 13-4 run to take a 41-33 lead.

After James scored off a pair of offensive rebounds in the final minute, the second pulling Rider within 41-37 with 19 seconds left, Rice called a timeout and set up a play for Collins, who came off a screen and drained the Hawks’ eighth 3-pointer with two seconds left to give Monmouth a seven-point lead at the break.

Monmouth guard Gabe Spinelli suffered a sprained ankle in the first half and did not return.

1. Valencia rising

The 6-9 Valencia, a native of Columbia who redshirted last season as a true freshman, overslept and missed the team’s shoot around Saturday morning. And when Rice decided to start him anyway, pushing off whatever discipline is coming, Valencia rewarded him by draining this first three from long range.

“Jaret is incredible and he hadn’t even started yet. His potential is probably the highest our team,” Rice said. “He’s not going to make the NBA as a four-man, but as a three-man with his length and he can shoot - he showed that today - his athleticism. We’re working on getting him about 10, 15 more pounds, and that is the frame of person who gets a chance in the big, big league.”

2. Strong paint presence

It wasn’t until late last season that center Klemen Vuga began playing his best basketball. But now the 6-9 Vuga is playing sparingly as a nurses a sore back, leaving Konstantynovskyi, a 6-10 native of Ukraine who played two seasons at Tulsa, to shoulder much of the burden in the paint most nights.

“I think it’s about being physical under the rim. Trusting my teammates,” Konstantynovskyi said.

It’s the second double-double in 11 games this season for Konstantynovskyi, while he was a point short of his career high, hitting for 22 points against Belmont. Monmouth is 3-0 when he scores in double figures, averaging 9.5 points and 7.3 rebounds.

3. Role Reversals

A year ago it was Monmouth reeling when Rider beat them. This year it’s Rider, picked to win the MAAC, that falls to 2-8, with just one Division 1 win, and that came against 1-11 Stonehill.

“I’ve bene through what (Rider coach Kevin Baggett) has been dealing with, just last year I was feeling how he’s feeling,” Rice said. “But he was picked to win his league, so when this happens you schedule how you do, you’re feeling good about your team and then it goes how it’s going for them.

“You’re just trying to get your kids to fight. And I knew when they saw Monmouth all those guys, we just have a thing with them, back and fourth. I just know today was going to be a battle and I’m just glad my kids believed what I was telling them.”

While the two have played the last two seasons, after spending nine seasons together in the MAAC, it’s unclear how long into the future the rivalry will continue. According to Baggett, there are still two more years on the contract.

“I will go down there. We have a great thing, you shake hands like today and you go home,” Rice said. “It don’t have to be I’m yelling at their fans, they’re talking about my wife and kids, and all kinds of stuff and it’s not worth it if that’s what it’s going to turn into.”

Monmouth basketball: Why Jack Collins is a difference-maker; Plus 3 keys vs. Rider

WEST LONG BRANCH – In an age of advance metrics, the plus/minus stat can get overlooked in the flood of hoops data. It’s simply how your team does while you’re on the court. It lacks context – players with fewer minutes have less impact on the game – but over time it paints a picture of the impact a player has.

It’s not surprise graduate guard Xander Rice tops team at plus-17 through 10 games, averaging 20.1 points-per-game entering today’s Central Jersey showdown with Rider (2 p.m.; SNY/ NBC Sports Philadelphia/ FloSports.com). And it’s a big surprise that guard Jakari Spence, who drained the game-winning buzzer beater a week ago against Northern Illinois at OceanFirst Bank Center, is at the bottom at minus-44, having been a steady influence in the backcourt.

But one of the takeaways is that it highlights how well sophomore guard Jack Collins has played, doing all the little things that make a difference on the court.

Over the last seven games, the Manasquan High Schol product Collins is a plus-40. No one else is even close. Against Seton Hall he had 12 points, nine rebounds and four steals in 37 minutes. He continues to do the dirty work defensively, even if it limits his effectiveness at the other end. And he’s still Monmouth’s second leading scorer at 11.3 points-per-game.

And in the halftime locker room Tuesday night at the Prudential Center, Collins, a CAA All-Rookie team selection last season, made head coach King Rice’s job a little easier, with Seton Hall leading 40-29.

More: Monmouth basketball continues to show what's possible. Three takeaways from Seton Hall game

“I didn’t really have to say a lot at halftime, because Jack handled it for me,” Rice said. “He just said ‘when you get in the game you better be ready, and I’m not saying it again.’ And that was the halftime talk right there.”

Trailing by 11 points at the break, the deficit was down to two with 10 minutes to play, and was still three points with just over five minutes left.

“He probably would get more points if he had a coach that would get him some shots,” Rice said. “But Jack is not underappreciated. He was a surprise to everybody last year. No one thought he was good enough to play at our level and I think he’s shown he could be on this team, on the other team, everybody needs one of him – he’s just tougher than you. And he never stops.”

“He has a terrible back right now. You wouldn’t have known it out there today.”

Here’s the plus/minus for the first 10 games for the 12 Monmouth players who average more than five minutes per game:

Player                               PPG.    RPG.  +/-

Xander Rice                          20.1   2.2   17

Jack Collins                          11.3   6.3   16

Nikita Konstantnyovskyi   8.3   7.0     4

Ahman Sandhu                   1.6   1.0     0

Cornelius Robinson Jr.     4.1   2.8    -1

Gabe Spinelli                      2.1    0.4    -7

Jack Holmstrom                1.3   0.3     -8

Klemen Vuga                     2.5   1.5    -10

Jaret Valencia                    7.5   5.1    -12

Abdi Bashir Jr.                   7.6   0.6    -18

Jakari Spence                     5.5   3.0    -25

Jaden Doyle                       0.7   1.1    -44

Here are three keys for Monmouth in today’s game with Rider:

1. Start fast

Rider (2-7) has struggled, with a seven-game losing streak the program’s longest in 18 years before getting their first Division 1 win last time out against Stonehill, now 1-11. The longer Rider’s in the game, the more the visitors will feel empowered to win a second straight, and severely damage the Hawks’ chances of emerging from a difficult non-conference schedule with a winning record.

Remember, Rider came into the season as the preseason favorite in the MAAC. And while they’ve already dropped two league games, the Broncs have some talent if they can put it together.

2. Backcourt balancing act

With Rice averaging 34 minutes, Collins at 33 minutes and Spence usually in the 30-minute range, it doesn’t leave a lot of spare time in the guard rotation. And it’s led to frustration among guys like freshman Abdi Bashir Jr. and sophomore Gabe Spinelli, each pushing for playing time amid a group of reserves that includes junior Jayden Doyle and senior Jack Holmstrom.

Finding the right mix will be critical, because Bashir and Spinelli have each shown an ability to spark the team off the bench. And their emergence simply adds to the Hawks’ arsenal, with Spinelli a solid defender as well.

3. Win guard battle

Speaking of Monmouth’s backcourt, it’s been a strength this season, and winning the individual battles against the Rider guards will be critical. Mervin James had 17 points against Monmouth last season, and Allen Powell had 11 points, hitting three from long range, in the Broncs’ 88-62 win.

For the season, Monmouth’s starting guards are combining to average 37 points and 8.2 assists. Play like that, get a boost off the bench, and the Hawks have a solid win.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Monmouth basketball overpowers Rider: 3 takeaways from 77-71 win