Monmouth shows potential despite 27-point loss in opener

King Rice looks on as Monmouth battles Seton Hall in season opener Wednesday. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

NEWARK, N.J. — In many ways, this season for Monmouth will resemble that of 2013-14.

At this time nine years ago, the Hawks had just been thrown into the fire of what would be their first season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference after departing the Northeast Conference, navigating a newer and more treacherous minefield with a relatively young roster dotted with several veterans whose presence amid the ranks proved invaluable. Eventually, those body blows and potholes along the road became the guidance that would soon pave the way for a pair of regular season MAAC championships and National Invitation Tournament appearances in West Long Branch during an era of captivating moments that will not soon be forgotten.

Nine years later, Monmouth finds itself in similar surroundings, having become conference emigrés for a second time in the past decade after joining the Colonial Athletic Association this past July. And much like it was in November 2013, the Hawks’ roster is largely untested but loaded with upside that will need to mature before effectively finding its way, lessons that were learned the first time this season in a 79-52 loss to Seton Hall Wednesday in Newark as head coach King Rice squared off against friendly rival Shaheen Holloway once again, the latter having also undergone a change of scenery to become the head coach of his alma mater after leading Saint Peter’s to an historic run to be the fifth-to-last team standing in last March’s NCAA Tournament.

“Anytime you lose when you come up and play a high-major, it can go badly for you,” Rice conceded. “And the thing that was impressive about Seton Hall is their size and their girth. It’s just a totally different game. We got clean looks, we just weren’t making them. You feel bad because we’re so young, but this is what college basketball is.”

Yet even in the loss, Rice — who received 18 points and 15 rebounds from Myles Foster in a career night for the junior forward — saw more positives than negatives on an evening that could, in time, become a watershed moment on the Jersey Shore.

“I thought Amaan (Sandhu), once he calmed down, showed he’s going to be able to do some stuff,” Rice gushed. “Jack Collins — I don’t think he ever missed all his shots — he’s just a stud of a kid who competes as hard as anyone. Myles Foster, there’s just so many positives. We’ve just got to keep Myles Ruth out of foul trouble, it just changes everything for us when he has to sit out.”

“We’re a really young team this year,” Foster echoed. “We started freshmen. Jack Collins’ last game was somewhere in Manasquan, not against Seton Hall. I think as a collective unit, we got into our second half and we got comfortable, but I think in the first, it was the first game jitters, a lot of young guys coming in and out. But we’ve gotta come out stronger.”

Foster, with Jarvis Vaughan injured and unavailable Wednesday, slid into the role of leading forward for the Hawks with aplomb and more tenacity than trepidation. And as so many Monmouth big men did before him — Chris Brady, Zac Tillman, Diago Quinn, Mustapha Traore, Walker Miller and Nikkei Rutty, just to name a few — Foster made the game look effortless more often than not, a harbinger of much better days to come as the Brooklyn native sits on the precipice of potential all-CAA recognition with more nights like Wednesday's opener on the horizon.

“We know what Myles can do,” Rice proudly reiterated. “Him changing his body and getting in shape, he’s a problem. I thought he settled in, got to his moves, and really did a great job.”

“I’m in a new position this year where I kind of have to lead the younger guys,” Foster added. “I just try to lead by example, go hard to the boards, talk to the defense, get defensive stops, so I can show them the way to the best of my ability.”

Rice is always the first to admit life in college basketball is not the sugar cookie it can easily be mistaken to be, and will seldom, if ever, make excuses for subpar performance. His candor is usually more refreshing after a loss, and after not coming out on top Wednesday, admitted that there may be more results like these in the near future, but also revealed the Hawks will be better for it in the long run.

“I just wanted them to continue to fight,” he said. “You’re coming in, it’s (Holloway’s) first game, Big East, all that stuff. Everybody’s riled up, ready to get you, so I just told them as long as we compete and we keep our cool, we’re not going to start doing cheap stuff. We’re going to play basketball, and if somebody beats you, they beat you. You shake their hand and you walk out, so we took the lump tonight, but that’s my third time up here and the number’s about the same. We’ve bounced back from some of these, and it’s going to get a lot tougher before it gets easier.”