Red Storm progression a welcome change of pace as Johnnies improve to 4-1

NEW YORK – Oh, baby, don’t it feel like heaven right now?

Don’t it feel like something from a dream?

Yeah, I’ve never known nothing quite like this. Don’t it feel like tonight might never be again?

– Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “The Waiting”

The desire among St. John’s fans for a cohesive basketball team, one whose collective whole is greater than the sum of its parts, has spent nearly two decades in a cycle of reformation, never quite reaching a finished product.

Mike Jarvis. Norm Roberts. Steve Lavin, Chris Mullin. The names changed, the players did, too. The end result – outside of just four NCAA Tournament appearances since the Clinton administration – has remained the same. Only now does it seem like the latest attempt at reinventing the wheel might be one in which the adhesive thrown at the proverbial wall finally sticks.

When looking at the final score of the Red Storm’s 82-63 victory Wednesday night over Columbia, look not at how the final margin was trimmed from 30 points to a more manageable 19, nor at the lack of a takeover scorer that has come to be commonplace on the corner of Union and Utopia in the Marcus Hattens, D’Angelo Harrisons and Shamorie Pondses of the world. Rather, the one prevailing takeaway is that of the head coach and his staff taking players and developing them to both their fullest potential AND the betterment of the team as a whole.

“I thought we got some more guys ready tonight,” Mike Anderson assessed when questions lingered as to how St. John’s (4-1) would respond off a loss for the first time this season following a two-point, last-second setback at the hands of Vermont Saturday afternoon. “You look at Greg Williams, I thought he got more comfortable. You saw David (Caraher) out there and what he brings to the table for our basketball team, so we’ve got some other guys that, now, all of a sudden, they’re contributing. You continue to see what Marcellus (Earlington) brings to our team.”

What a 180, right? And it only begins there on the surface. Williams continues to round into form after a preseason injury, Caraher has provided a lethal shot off the bench, and with eight points and eight rebounds, Earlington once again showed why the cries from Red Storm fans for Mullin to play him more often were legitimate gripes.

Then, there was Rasheem Dunn, who racked up 14 first-half points in almost as many minutes to raise his two-game total to 27 points in 50 minutes since receiving a waiver to play immediately, and more importantly, the interior presence of Josh Roberts (11 rebounds and three blocked shots in a defensive tour de force) and freshman Julian Champagnie (14 points, seven rebounds) in his latest revelatory moment in an X-factor rookie campaign.

“We’ve got a grading system,” Anderson revealed after a performance where Champagnie’s two-way play belied his tender age on more than one occasion. “And Julian and Josh have been probably the guys that have graded out the most consistent. Tonight, even early on, he wasn’t making shots, but then he started attacking the glass, running lanes, I think he got some offensive rebounds for us. He continues to get confidence, and that’s going to be important for us. His confidence growing only makes us a much better basketball team. I’ve been pleased thus far.”

With regard to Roberts, Anderson praised the rapid ascent of his sophomore forward’s own trajectory.

“He continues to patrol the backboard,” he said after last week’s win over New Hampshire. “He’s that back line. If we’re pressuring up, somebody’s got to be back there, and he’s starting to see that. Early on, he wasn’t seeing that, and now his rotation is getting there. He’s just playing with maximum effort, and it just takes our guys to another level. When he’s playing like that and engaged like that, you see our defense really just kind of go up. He’s playing to his strengths, and I think what you see right now – even in January and February – I think you’re going to see a guy that’s oozing with a lot of confidence.”

Heading into a weekend where on tap for the Red Storm is a third meeting with Arizona State in 23 months and a potential date with reigning national champion Virginia should St. John’s finally eclipse the Sun Devils, the growth is a welcome sight. So, too, is the assertion – a brutally honest and heartfelt claim at that as opposed to past lip service – that the best is yet to come.

“We’re not the type of team that’s going to show up and win,” said Anderson. “We’ve got to be blue-collar, do the right things defensively and offensively. This team is building right in front of your eyes. We’ve still got a ways to go, but we’ve got to continue – even the guys that start out – to bring that same sense of urgency, offensively and defensively.”

The waiting is the hardest part.

JP’s 3 Thoughts: Seton Hall bounces back, trounces Saint Louis

Myles Powell followed 37-point masterpiece against Michigan State with 26 points Sunday as Seton Hall earned convincing road win at Saint Louis. (Photo by Wendell Cruz/Finish First Photos)

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

For anyone who thought there might be a hangover with a quick turnaround from a tough loss to Michigan State on Thursday for Seton Hall, there was none to be found. The Pirates got off to a fast start under the Gateway Arch and aside from a couple blips, rolled to an 83-66 victory over the Saint Louis Billikens to go to 3-1 on the season.

Here are three quick thoughts as an observer from 1,000 miles away in New York:

1. Dominance

In terms of pure size, skill, and experience, this game was no contest. Seton Hall bounded out to an 18-3 lead to start this game, and that was without Myles Powell contributing much at all. The Pirates spread the ball around, and shredded the Billikens' defense while also doing good work on that end themselves (of note, Romaro Gill continued to be a factor with a couple blocked shots to assist the hot start).

Eventually, of course, Powell was Powell, finishing with an efficient 26 points, and Sandro Mamukelashvili, who kicked off the scoring with a spot-up three-pointer, added 17 points, seven rebounds and a trio of assists for a nice overall game. While the team shooting numbers went down in the second half after the Pirates tossed the ball in the hoop at a 48 percent clip in the first 20 minutes, Seton Hall ran away with it in the second half. A 7-0 run to begin the half took much of the remaining wind out of the Billikens' sails, and Saint Louis never seriously threatened from there.

2. Adjustments

The game wasn't without its rough spells, of course, and Saint Louis head coach Travis Ford threw on a 1-3-1 halfcourt trap defense in the first half that caused Seton Hall some problems initially. But Kevin Willard and company eventually adjusted, running Powell on the baseline to exploit the soft spot in the defense for a big three-pointer, and then adding another three on the next possession to finally break the home team out of it.

In the second half, Ford threw on a full-court press, and again, that gave the Pirates a little initial trouble as they got caught playing a tad too fast (and right into Saint Louis' hands) on a couple trips down the floor. But the Pirates adjusted to that as well, using some of their bigger players (notably Tyrese Samuel) to assist the press break, and once that happened, the rout resumed. Credit the bench for the scheme and the team for execution to stem the tide in what was a raucous environment early, but definitely wasn't so by the end of the game.

3. Whistles, Whistles, Whistles

Our first instance of the #RefShow surfaced on Sunday, as the crew, led by Michael Stephens, called a whopping 44 fouls (thought it was more, actually) that led to SIXTY-SEVEN free throws, including 41 for the home team. Luckily for the Pirates, they took care of their business at the charity stripe (21-for-26), while the Billikens, one of the worst free throw-shooting teams in the nation (343rd coming in), decidedly did not (23-for-41).

I am not entirely sure why the game was called so tightly, but again, despite all the whistles and the foul trouble for centers Ike Obiagu and Gill, both of whom fouled out in the second half, the Pirates still prevailed, and won big at that.

After they, by their own admission, said that the leadership should have been better down the stretch against Michigan State on Thursday, the Pirates put their money where their mouths were, and used that leadership inherent in a veteran team to handle their own business. Seton Hall now gets to enjoy a week off before hosting Florida A&M Saturday at the Prudential Center. Tipoff is slated for noon.

Manhattan vs. Albany Photo Gallery

Photos from Manhattan's 57-51 win over Albany on November 16, 2019:

(All photos by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Seton Hall’s late rally falls short against Princeton

Tony Bozzella looks on as Seton Hall battles Princeton Friday. (Photo by Ray Floriani/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — In the long run, this could be a case of short-term pain, long-term gain. 

Not to say Seton Hall was slipping into a mindset of complacency after winning their first three games, but after being handed its first loss of the season, a 78-76 setback at the hands of a now 3-0 Princeton team, Tony Bozzella did not hide his displeasure.

“I am extremely disappointed,” the Pirates’ coach said following the game Friday. “Give credit to Princeton, but we played uncomposed. This is a terrible loss.”

Some may point to the loss of Shadeen Samuels, Seton Hall’s senior leader and Big East Preseason Player of the Year, who exited with an injury after three minutes and two points and is now day-to-day, per Bozzella, but Samuels’ absence was not the main reason for this loss. 

“Injuries did not decide the game,” Seton Hall’s Alexis Lewis, a game-high 27-point scorer, noted. “We are all capable of filling in. We have good players, but tonight, we made mistakes that cost us the game.”

Seton Hall started strong, holding an eight-point lead after the first period. That lead was reduced to three at the half. Princeton was making its move. The final half saw the Tigers take command. A number of times, Princeton was able to get out, push the ball and create scoring opportunities in a secondary offense, as well as break down the Pirate defense by getting in the lane and finding an open cutter or shooter on the perimeter. 

“The end of the third period and beginning of the fourth lost the game for us,” Bozzella lamented.

Princeton staked an 11-point lead with six minutes remaining in the game before Seton Hall made its final run. The Pirates were down one with eight seconds left. After the inbound, Desiree Elmore traveled. Princeton’s Maggie Connolly hit one of two three throws. With four seconds remaining, the Pirates had to go the length of the court. Lauren Park-Lane pushed it upcourt and fired a long-distance three-pointer that hit the back of the rim.

“We did not have aggressiveness or toughness,” Bozzella added. “Even that last play, we went over what we wanted to run during a timeout. We came out and didn’t execute what we wanted. Just very disappointing.”

One day of prep loomed before the next outing, a neutral-site game against Saint Joseph’s at Fordham. 

“That is not a big issue,” Bozzella said. “Our Big East schedule goes Friday-Sunday, so out of conference, we want to get ready for that. The big issue is toughness. We have to come out and be aggressive against an opponent that will do the same.”

Manhattan moves to 2-0 with last-minute comeback over Albany

Tykei Greene drives up for two of his game-high 17 points as Manhattan scored last seven points of second half to defeat Albany. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

NEW YORK — Manhattan turned in an offensive performance reminiscent of its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship outfits in its season opener Tuesday night, receiving five double-figure scoring efforts to steer a victory over Delaware State.

The Jaspers’ first attempt at an encore, however, took on a tenor more symbolic of the gritty brand for which the program has earned its reputation over the bulk of the past decade.

Four days removed from placing 85 points on the Draddy Gymnasium scoreboard, Manhattan employed a more workmanlike demeanor against a like-minded opponent in Albany, trailing by 11 points on two separate occasions before seizing control down the stretch to prevail Saturday in a 57-51 battle with the Great Danes that could ultimately be described as a tug-of-war played out on a hardwood floor.

“Early in the year, those are games you want to try to steal,” head coach Steve Masiello remarked as the Jaspers improved to 2-0 for the third time under his watch — which has now entered its ninth season — and second in the last three years. “I’m really proud of our guys, I thought they were extremely resilient tonight. They came back from two double-digit deficits and showed a lot of character, showed a lot of what the people in that locker room are about.”

“It was very telling for me that we played Tuesday night, and Wednesday, we had nine guys in the gym on their own on their day off. Samir Stewart was on the gun Tuesday night after the Delaware State game, shooting. There’s no value in that. That excites me. Whether we’re 0-2, 2-0, those are the things I’m looking at that move the needle for me, that tell me what this group could really be in time.”

Manhattan led for just over four minutes in a contest in which Albany (1-2) was able to get good looks against Masiello’s matchup zone defense at the beginning of the first half. The Great Danes connected on four of their first nine three-point field goal attempts en route to opening the game on a 15-4 run, then struck first out of the intermission when Cameron Healy’s three-pointer put the visitors ahead by the score of 34-23. The Jaspers’ engine would soon reach top speed, though, as a 10-0 run over the next five minutes turned a comfortable lead into a tighter one-point affair.

Albany would soon stretch its advantage to six points, but Manhattan fired back once more, utilizing an 11-2 spurt punctuated by a Tykei Greene three to take its first lead of the night with 6:10 remaining in regulation, at 46-43. The stretch drive proved to be a seesaw battle — with the Great Danes forging ahead one last time, at 51-50 — before a game-defining exchange occurred within the final two minutes after Pauly Paulicap missed a pair of free throws that would have put the Jaspers ahead by three. Trailing by one, Stewart’s driving layup sailed wide, but Paulicap fully extended himself to scoop up the errant basketball and lay it in himself to regain a lead the hosts would not relinquish.

“Every time I mess up on a play before, I always keep that chip on my shoulder,” the fifth-year senior forward imparted as his lunge and subsequent basket was the beginning of a game-ending spate of seven unanswered Manhattan points. “I always keep that in the back of my head to make up for it, and that’s what allows me to keep going throughout the game.”

“It’s one thing to talk about being a tough team, it’s another thing to do the things that tough teams do,” said Masiello — who tied his former mentor, Bobby Gonzalez, for fourth place on the Jaspers’ all-time wins list with the victory — after his team clamped down defensively, allowing just five second-half field goals to an Albany team that missed each of its final ten long-range attempts. “I thought in the second half, we did the things that tough teams do. We played our brand of basketball.”

In addition to his game-high 17 points, Greene supplemented his offense with nine rebounds, part of a night where he and fellow sophomore Elijah Buchanan combined for 17 boards to satisfy his coach, who always stresses consistent rebounding from his backcourt.

“We want to see car crashes on the glass,” an impassioned Masiello declared after Manhattan outrebounded Albany by a 28-16 margin in the second half. “I think that’s a very nice thing for us, and our guards are a big part of that. We did that tonight.”

Up next for Manhattan is a pivotal road trip — one that will last through December 14 — beginning Tuesday night at Samford, where Masiello will coach against his former college teammate, Scott Padgett. But beyond the sentiment lies business, and the veteran architect of the Jasper program knows exactly what he wants from the five-game, 25-day odyssey.

“You’ll know if you’re a good team or not by how you do on the road,” he astutely observed. “We’ll have our hands full, but we’re excited to go to Birmingham. In mid-major basketball, if you return a lot of guys, you’re going to have a tough time. We’ve got to be better than our excuses and any reasons in front of us. We’ll go one game at a time, 40 minutes at a time.”

JP’s 5 Thoughts: Seton Hall edged by Michigan State in Top 15 matchup

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

NEWARK, N.J. — Boy, was that a heck of a game. And a heck of a tough loss for the Seton Hall Pirates. 

At home in front of the third-largest crowd to ever witness a college basketball game at the Prudential Center (14,051), the third-ranked Michigan State Spartans made a late push to sink No. 12 Seton Hall, 76-73, despite an all-time great performance by Myles Powell. It was a March game in the month of November.

Here are the thoughts:

1. Them's The Breaks

Seton Hall had a 71-66 lead with 2:40 remaining after Powell hit a gigantic three-pointer while being fouled by MSU's Gabe Brown. But the Pirates couldn't close the deal down the stretch, and head coach Kevin Willard blamed one thing.

"With that group on the floor, we should have done much better with time management," he said. "That's where we lost the game. We took three quick shots, shots that were not within the offense, and that gave them fast break opportunities."

Indeed, as the Pirates missed, Michigan State took it and ran with it. Rocket Watts' triple made it a two-point game, and superstar guard Cassius Winston's three-pointer on the next trip down put Michigan State ahead by one. Two Powell free throws made the score 73-72 in favor Seton Hall, but a sharp pass by Winston to Malik Hall (more on him shortly) against a zone defense put Sparty ahead to stay.

And that was because on the Pirates' last two shots, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Powell both drove the right side of the lane into contact, but there was no whistle. Now, without the aid of a replay, I can tell you that the first drive was definitely closer to a foul than the second one, but as Willard mentioned, with better clock management, Seton Hall may not have had to worry about the whistle. Powell certainly wasn't going to gripe about it.

"I'm not one of those players (that complains about the referees)," Powell said. "If you know basketball and you think I got fouled, I'll just leave it at that. The refs did a good job, they let us play basketball. A couple times, we went to the basket, they went to the basket, and they just let us play. When (they're) letting us play the whole game, you can't be looking for a call in the last 15-20 seconds. As a leader and a captain, I could have made a better decision, but I'm not going to blame it on the refs."

2. This... Is... Newark!

Holy cow, was this a fun atmosphere tonight. A mostly blue Prudential Center brought it from the opening tip to the final buzzer. Before the doors even opened, I saw the lines of students waiting to get in at about 20-deep, and the student section was pretty much full 45 minutes before tipoff. 

The rest of the fans made their way to their seats a little later, but still got there before the start of the game, and as I said, they were on every dribble, pass, and whistle. They yelped when they felt there should have been traveling called on Michigan State, they griped about fouls called on the home team, and maybe most of all, they were loud at the right times, so loud as the Pirates were introduced that by the time public address announcer Tim McLoone got to Powell, he couldn't even be heard.

Color the Hall of Fame coach on the visiting sideline impressed.

"I've been in a lot of great arenas," Tom Izzo said. "They don't have to take a back seat to anybody."

3. The Legend Grows

The $1 million question before the game was what Myles Powell's status was. After spraining his ankle early in the win over Stony Brook on Saturday, Kevin Willard said that Powell would be out a while, but rumors started almost instantly that the real story was much more rosy.

Turns out, the rumors were not only true, they were even more true than could have been expected. Powell not only played on a less-than-100-percent ankle, he shone brightly on the big stage, pouring in 37 points on 12-of-27 shooting, 6-for-14 from three-point range, and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe. 23 of those points came in the second half, with several of those patented "How The Fresh Heck Did He Do That?!" Powell shots that, of course, whipped the crowd into a frenzy.

Much ink, digital and from good, old-fashioned pens, has been spent in praise of a player that Willard has often called the best player in college basketball. And Izzo has now joined that group, though he did it without quill or parchment.

"(He's) one of the best players I've ever seen in college basketball," the Spartans' skipper said. "He seems to play hard, seems to have fun, seems like a great kid. Didn't talk a lot of crap, just did it the right way. My hat's off to him."

Coming from a coach who has seen more basketball than most, that's impressive. He wasn't finished, either.

"I don't know if God could have stopped him on some of those shots," Izzo quipped.

Pirate fans are so used to routine brilliance from the Trenton native, but tonight took it to a still higher level. While the initial prognosis for his ankle was definitely not as bad as it was portrayed to the media on Saturday, to go out and get 37 points against a team that year in and year out is one of the better teams in the nation on a less-than-perfect set of wheels ranks right up with one of the best performances this scribe has ever seen. And it's still only November.

4. The Hall Steps Up

Tonight, a Hall stepped up big in the second half. Unfortunately for Pirate fans, I refer to Michigan State freshman forward Malik Hall, who — despite playing in just his third career game and scoring as many points this season as I have up until halftime tonight — scored 17 second-half points while not missing a shot from the field. His 7-for-7 performance lifted the Spartans after they had Winston, then veteran forward Xavier Tillman in foul trouble, and fellow starter Aaron Henry dealing with a gimpy ankle himself.

Izzo said it best afterwards: You don't win a game like this without something like that happening, a player who most definitely was not high on Seton Hall's scouting report, playing huge in a big spot. Kudos to him, because without Hall's contributions, The Hall probably wins this one.

5. Cale Comes To Play

There are a couple things to take away from this game, the first being that Myles Cale appears to be back. He sunk a trio of threes in the second half and really gave the team a lift, finishing with 12 points. The junior had struggled in the team's first two contests, and while he has been hot and cold historically, something seemed a little off.

"I had a great conversation with him after the Stony Brook game," Willard said. "Sometimes when you go from your sophomore year to your junior year, you think you're going to start doing things magically. I told him he needs to get a little simpler on the offensive end. He was aggressive, but he was simple (tonight). He didn't try to force things, and took the open shot."

Throughout most of this game, it felt like the Pirates needed someone else to score other than Powell before he went bonkers in the second half, and Cale was that player. Perhaps this will be the start of an upward trend for the rangy wing.

The second thing to take away is that this game, for all that Seton Hall failed to do down the stretch, showed that the Pirates can hang with the very best that college hoops has to offer. Indeed, talking to Willard and the coaches after the game, there was very little gloom to go around. Part of it may be the quick turnaround heading to Saint Louis on Sunday for the first road test of the year, but I think that tonight served as evidence that this team is most definitely legit.

"Now we know we can compete with those teams up top, with the Oregons, the Gonzagas that we're looking forward to playing," Cale said. "This is a hard loss today, but we know we could have won if we did a couple things differently."

Kevin Willard quote book: Michigan State

On Myles Powell and whether he aches for his inability to close the game:
“He’s the best player in the country, and it’s not even close for what he does. That was a great college basketball game. There’s no aching, you know? We left it all out there, they left it all out there. It was just a great college basketball game, and they just made some plays that we didn’t, and we’ll learn from it and get better from it.”

On the difference in the final two minutes:
“I think the biggest difference was — what did you call it, Jerry, the Mother Seton miracle juice? Yeah, I think that was the biggest difference. We’re up five with 2:41 to go, and with that group on the floor, we should have done much better with time management. That’s where we lost the game. We got up five and we took three quick shots, shots that were not within the offense, and it ended up giving them fast break opportunities, and give Rocket (Watts) credit. He made a big one and the other kid (Cassius Winston) made a big one. But I still like the way we executed down the stretch coming out of the timeout. I thought Sandro got a great look right in front of the rim, and then even after they missed the free throw, I thought Myles definitely got fouled going to the basket, and he did everything you’re supposed to do. But again, give them a lot of credit, they made some big plays.”

On Myles Cale as a complementary scorer alongside Powell:
“I had a great conversation with MC after the game the other night, and sometimes when you go from your sophomore to your junior year, you think you’re just going to start doing things magically, and I told him he’s got to get back to being a little more simpler on the offensive end. He was aggressive, but he was simple, he didn’t try to force things, he took the open shots. He does so many other good things on the defensive end for us. Between him and Jared (Rhoden), as they kind of get a little more confidence, I love that spot.”

On Michigan State’s Malik Hall:
“Oh, man. (Thomas) Kithier made a three in the first half that looked like Larry Bird, and then Malik — if he shoots like that and they’re doing all that role replacing, you’ve got to deal with (Xavier) Tillman down low and he’s coming up high, you’ve got Gabe Brown in the corner or (Aaron) Henry in the corner — you’ve got to start switching pick-and-rolls and now all of a sudden, you’re putting a four man on Cassius Winston, and good luck with that, you’re not winning that battle. That kid played terrific. Obviously, we knew he was a good player — he’s at Michigan State — but 7-for-7 and making the shots he made, that was really a game-changer.”

On when he knew Powell was ready to play Thursday:
“He said when he came back in for film that he was ready to go. We worked out this morning at 10 a.m., he didn’t practice yesterday, he did some dummy offense yesterday when he walked through. He came in, he said he was ready to go and he wants to play. I knew he’d play, I didn’t think he’d be able to do what he did. That just shows you what a special player he is.”

On his takeaway from Thursday night:
“We have to get a little bit better at executing offensively. It’s been my worry because Ike (Obiagu) was hurt, Myles has been hurt, Romaro’s been hurt, Jared’s been hurt. We haven’t had enough practice time to play against very, very good defensive teams. We have to execute better on the offensive end. I know we’ll get better at that, and I like what we did defensively in the first half. In the second half, I thought both teams just made great plays.”

On Sunday's matchup at Saint Louis:
“We don’t have an easy game coming up. We’re going to have to bounce back, and I’ve got a lot of confidence in these guys. We lost a tough one last year to Saint Louis, we lost a tough one to Louisville at home last year, and we got better and better as the year went on. I think that’s what I’m really excited about with this team, that this team’s going to get much better as the year goes on. I don’t think we’re close to where we’re going to be in another month.”

On how much fun this game was:
“It was great. For a November 14 college basketball game, the atmosphere was great — two high-level teams with high-level players going at it — it was a lot of fun. The crowd was phenomenal, our student section was great, I loved the fact that they gave a standing ovation to Cassius when he got announced, it just shows the type of students we have. It was fun. I’m going to go back, and I’m looking forward to watching the tape and I’m looking forward to going back to work with this team. Would we like to have won it? Absolutely, but we’ll get better from it and we’ll improve from it.”

On the last two minutes:
“We took three bad shots. Our emotions were really going well, we got a great stop on that end, MP came down and took a quick one and then Ant came down and tried to get in the lane and just missed a little floater, and both of those led to their threes. So those two possessions really kind of hurt us, and we should have been in this instance where we took 28-29 seconds, take a shot and then sprint back, because I thought we were doing a pretty decent job with that group defensively.”

Iona comes up short against Ohio in home opener

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Four new faces and a new acting head coach christened a newly-renovated arena Wednesday night as Iona returned to familiar confines for its first home game of the season.

After playing catch-up most of the night and ultimately pulling to within one point late in the second half, the Gaels were unable to complete the comeback, falling short in an 81-72 loss to Ohio University at the remodeled Hynes Athletics Center.

“Not good enough,” said E.J. Crawford — whose 21 points were tops for the Gaels (0-2) in the losing effort — of Iona’s execution. “We’ve got to understand, every game, somebody’s coming to beat us. We’ve got to bring it 100 percent, no letups, no anything. We’ve just got to get better and get back in the lab.”

“We just didn’t give enough,” a brutally honest Tajuan Agee succinctly surmised. “I didn’t give enough, I was bad today. Just together as a unit, we just didn’t play enough and we just couldn’t get it done.”

Playing under the direction of associate head coach Tra Arnold for the second straight game while Tim Cluess continues to tend to a health matter that has kept him off the bench to start the season, Iona had difficulty finding its way offensively through most of the first half, allowing Ohio (3-0) to set the tone from beyond the arc by connecting on seven of twelve three-point field goal attempts. The Gaels did show glimmers of hope — namely from Dylan Van Eyck and Mo Thiam — off the bench, but could not close the gap.

“We just didn’t make the plays to win the game,” Arnold assessed. “We competed, but we just didn’t finish. We didn’t get a rebound when we needed to, and we got lost in certain things. We’ve been in two close games now.”

After Ohio opened up a 60-47 lead with ten minutes remaining in regulation, Iona slowly chipped away at its deficit, drawing within one point less than six minutes later. The Bobcats answered with a dunk, then turned an offensive foul charged to Agee — his fourth — into a three-pointer at the other end, followed by a transition basket that swelled the lead back to eight points and essentially iced the outcome for the visitors.

“Their guys made a couple of plays that our guys didn’t,” Arnold reflected. “That’s the recipe for where we’re at right now. We had our lapses, too. We’ve got to get better defensively and offensively.”

Rather than use the excuse of not having his championship-winning coach as a crutch, Agee offered blunt reality when addressing what went wrong.

“There’s no excuse,” the senior forward brusquely interjected, dismissing a perceived easy way out. “Coach Arnold’s putting us in position to be in games. We’ve just got to close the games out. Not having Coach Cluess is a struggle, but we’re not missing a beat as far as coaching.”

“We just can’t get it done. One thing about this team is that we don’t give up, it’s just that last hump. We get to the top of the hill and then we just fall right back down. We’ve got to keep getting better, and hopefully we can get over that hump and get our first W.”

Seton Hall vs. Stony Brook Photo Gallery

Photos from Seton Hall's 74-57 win over Stony Brook on November 9, 2019:

(All photos by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Hofstra uses 34-4 first-half run to down Monmouth for first win of season

Desure Buie led Hofstra with 17 points as Pride defeated Monmouth Saturday afternoon. (Photo by Vincent Simone/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Joe Mihalich was nothing less than satisfied Wednesday night after Hofstra lost its season opener to San Jose State, noting the Pride got what it deserved in defeat.

Three days later, the script, as it is so often apt to do in college basketball, was turned on its head.

A 34-4 run over the final ten minutes of the first half and six double-figure scorers -- the first such instance in almost three years -- took a tie game at the first media timeout into a runaway, one from which Hofstra emerged 94-74 victors over Monmouth Saturday to claim its third victory over the Hawks in as many seasons.

"We talked the last few days about attitude and effort," Mihalich recalled as Hofstra (1-1) shot over 63 percent from the floor in the opening stanza to shake loose from a Monmouth team looking to win its second straight road game to begin the season. "If anything, we learned a lesson that this is how it has to be. There's one way to play the game, and I thought we did that today."

The Pride was able to essentially dictate tempo in the first half, luring Monmouth (1-1) into a track meet through the opening minutes, relying on a high-octane offense still adjusting to life without Justin Wright-Foreman. The Hawks managed to stay within earshot for the early part of the period, but an Omar Silverio three-pointer with 10:37 remaining before halftime ignited a stretch of 15 unanswered points that put Hofstra in front to stay.

"He gave us a boost," Mihalich said of Silverio, the sophomore transfer from Rhode Island who chipped in for 13 points off the bench. "He can do that. He can score."

In addition to Silverio, Tareq Coburn recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, Jalen Ray tallied 14 points, Isaac Kante added 15, and the backcourt duo of Eli Pemberton and Desure Buie amassed 17 points apiece, the latter also supplementing his offense with eight assists and drawing six fouls to contribute in a way the final score neglected on the surface.

"He's just so important to our team," Mihalich said, praising Buie. "When he has the ball in his hands, he makes everyone else better. He just fills the stat sheet up."

Hofstra placed six players in double figures for the first time since a 38-point drubbing of crosstown rival Stony Brook on December 13, 2016, and the Pride's collective performance left Monmouth head coach King Rice brutally honest with what his squad was left to endure.

"We got big brothered today," Rice said after Monmouth would get no closer than 13 points midway through the second half. "I knew they would make shots, I didn't think they'd shoot 65 percent in the first half. It was a good game for seven minutes. I thought they looked tired, so we subbed and then their kids buckled down and whooped us from there forward."

The loss of Wright-Foreman -- drafted by the Utah Jazz this past June -- is an irreplaceable void even for a team such as Hofstra that returns every other piece of its core this season, experience that proved pivotal in the Pride being selected as the Colonial Athletic Association favorite entering the year, but the balance exhibited in victory Saturday proves that although it takes time to reveal itself, the sum of the whole is still greater than the parts.

"We're trying to find out who we are," Mihalich admitted. "We have a lot of returners, but it's still a whole new team. We're trying to figure out what this team is and what we're all about. We think we know, but it's a marathon, not a sprint. Every day, we're trying to get better and build toward something good."

Hofstra vs. Monmouth Photo Gallery

Photos from Hofstra's 94-74 win over Monmouth on November 9, 2019:

(All photos by Vincent Simone/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

JP's 5 Thoughts: Seton Hall clamps down without Powell to beat Stony Brook

With Myles Powell out for most of afternoon due to sprained ankle, Sandro Mamukelashvili picked up slack for Seton Hall, leading Pirates with 17 points in win over Stony Brook. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. -- It was not an ideal day for the 12th-ranked Seton Hall Pirates in any regard. 

With Michigan State looming on the horizon, Stony Brook came to Walsh Gymnasium for the first time since the 2012 NIT, and was determined to give the Hall a fight just like that night seven years ago.

And that was before an ankle injury to their star just three-and-a-half minutes into the game. But the Pirates persevered, as they are so used to doing, using a big second half to end up pulling away for a 74-57 victory, improving to 2-0 on the season.

Here are the Thoughts:

1. Powell Goes Down

On a transition drive with the game still young, Myles Powell drove the left side of the line and was contested well into a bit of an awkward shot. He came down on a defender's foot, limped off the floor with what turned out to be a sprained left ankle, and would not return to the game.

Obviously, all thoughts for the rest of the half rested with the Pirates' star player, who means literally almost everything to the program. In the second half, it was back to business for the most part as the game remained close, but what of Powell?

"Myles is getting X-rays right now," head coach Kevin Willard said after the game. "He got a really good ankle sprain, it's going to be a while. More than likely, no chance (he'll play) on Thursday."

While that does sound a bit grim, especially since Myles himself and the entire fan base have been looking forward to that game for so long, keep in mind that Willard does have a track record of assuming the worst when it comes to injuries, and the Pirates have also been very cautious in the past when having players coming back from injury. Stay tuned.

2. Sea-sick

Although the Pirates did score eight straight points without him early, Seton Hall's offense struggled to find its footing in the first half without Powell, falling down to 31 percent shooting by the break. All through that time, the Seawolves -- led by point guard Makale Foreman's 11 points -- gained confidence and began to realize they had a shot. 

It brought back some bad memories of the last two meetings against Stony Brook for Seton Hall: The first round of the 2012 NIT, and the following regular season at Prudential Center, both games that were narrow Seton Hall victories not decided until the final seconds. Obviously, there were completely different players and coaching staffs involved, but for a while there, it felt like it would again come down to the wire against the Seawolves.

But this game did no such thing.

3. Big Guys Being Big

With Powell out of commission, Sandro Mamukelashvili stepped up his game. He got off to a hot shooting start before Powell went down, but after Stony Brook made their run, his emotional intensity went up a few ticks. He concluded the first half with a dunk to cut the Pirates' deficit to two points, and in the second half, he picked it up even more, finishing with a game-high 17 points along with five boards and a pair of assists on 6-of-11 shooting. 

Speaking with him after the game, he said that as a junior in his third season in the program, he saw the opportunity to step up and produce, and had the confidence to do so. For a while in the second half, he was the Pirates' offense.

Meanwhile, 7-footer Romaro Gill, who picked up two first-half fouls -- including one on a three-point shooter -- went scoreless in the first half, but stepped up big-time as well. He chipped in nearly a double-double in the second half alone, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds. His plus-18 rating led not just the Pirates, but every player in the game at the end, with no Seton Hall player contributing more on the scoreboard or on the glass in the final 20 minutes. 

"Having Ro back out there really helped us," Willard said. "Ike (Obiagu) was still struggling from his sprained ankle (against Wagner) -- that's why Ikey didn't play as much. But the reason we struggled last year a little bit in the middle of the season is that Ro missed seven games. He gives us a presence, he knows what he's doing offensively. He knows who he is and doesn't try to be who he's not, and that's the biggest thing."

Seton Hall doesn't win this game going away like it did without its big men.

4. Defense Stands Tall

When Powell went out, the question was, "where do the Pirates go to replace his scoring output?"

The answer is "nowhere," because no one can equal his scoring prowess. But they also didn't need to, because their second-half defense was outstanding. They held the scrappy Seawolves to just 30 percent shooting after the break, including a 1-for-11 mark from three-point range. So what changed?

"I thought we played really good defense in the first half," Willard commented. "But as we started missing shots, we got a little deflated. I think we were able to shut down No. 1 (Makale Foreman) and made them take some tough shots, got on the break and got some easy buckets."

Foreman, who led Stony Brook with 16 points in the game, scored only five on 2-for-6 shooting in the second half. Give credit to Shavar Reynolds in particular, who ended up with nine points, four assists and three rebounds in the box score, but who did his best work in ways that don't get reflected by statistics -- he was right in Foreman's hip pocket -- and Stony Brook just didn't have the firepower to continue to hang tough once the Hall shut off the perimeter.

5. Conquering Sparta

Now comes the toughest task: National Player of the Year candidate Cassius Winston, Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo, and the Top 5-ranked Michigan State Spartans. It was going to be a mountain of a game anyway, but the Pirates will most likely be without their own star player for what should be a sold-out Prudential Center contest on Thursday night in prime time.

When asked what will be the toughest part of dealing without Powell, Willard mentioned that he will need to find a rotation that worked, adding that trying to find said rotation was one of the things that cost the Hall in the first half. But one thing is certain: The only way Seton Hall will be able to slay the dragon, so to speak, with or without Powell, is to come together as a unit like it did on Saturday. The Pirates will need that defensive toughness, that togetherness, to be able to sink the Spartans' ship on Thursday night, with or without Powell.

Powell is the unquestioned leader of this group, and time and again, he uses the word "brothers" to describe his relationship with his teammates. That will be put to maybe its biggest test to date this week, and I, for one, can't wait to see how it all goes down.

Kevin Willard quote book: Stony Brook

By Jaden Daly (@jadendaly) and Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

On Myles Powell's ankle injury and his availability Thursday against Michigan State:
"Yeah, Myles is getting X-rays right now. He got a really, really good ankle sprain, and it's going to be a while. More than likely, no chance on Thursday."

On how Seton Hall responded in Powell's absence:
"I didn't think we responded well to start, I think we were all a little bit -- I think we did okay at first, and then when the news trickled down the bench that he wasn't coming back, I just think everyone kind of understood that if he's as tough as he is and he's not coming back, he had to be hurt, so I think that kind of shook us a little bit, and I think in the second half, everyone else kind of understood what they had to do and did what they needed to do."

On playing at Walsh Gymnasium:
"I like the Rock. I'd much rather be at the Rock."

On Powell not playing vs. Michigan State being a tough pill for him to swallow:
"Unfortunately, injuries happen, and especially where he's at in his career, I'm going to probably be a little bit extra safe. I'll hold him out as long as I need to to make sure he comes back to where I don't affect -- or we don't affect -- his future, so this doesn't look like a one-game, two-game, this might be a prolonged absence."

On what changed defensively in the second half:
"I think the biggest thing was understanding I thought we played really good defense in the first half, and then as we kept missing shots, we got a little deflated. I thought the biggest thing was we shut down No. 1 (Makale Foreman) and kind of just made them take some tough shots, and got on the break and got some easy buckets. It really helped us."

On Romaro Gill in the second half:
"Yeah, having Ro back out there really helped us just because of -- Ike (Obiagu) was still struggling from his ankle sprain in the last game, so that's one reason why Ike didn't play that much. He went out there and gave it his best, he just -- he's still not back -- he should be fine for Michigan State, but having Ro out there -- again, I said early in the year -- the reason we struggled last year a little bit, in the middle of last season, was because Ro went down for seven games. He just gives us a presence, he knows what he's doing offensively, he's got confidence. Ro just is who he is. He doesn't try to be who he's not, and I think that's the biggest difference."

On Shavar Reynolds:
"Shavar's been one of those guys that just -- I thought he played the best of anybody. His two minutes last game, I thought, changed the tide last game, and I've got a lot of confidence in Shavar. He could shoot it, he can defend anybody, he's tough. I loved his energy, I thought the team fed off his energy."

On coming back after a two-game suspension:
"Actually, watching it on TV was much easier than this! It was hard. The hardest thing was not being able to communicate with the guys. They shut you down, you have no communication, you're not allowed to do anything. I knew Grant (Billmeier) would do phenomenal. Grant's going to be an unbelievable head coach, so I had no worries that we were going to win the game. The team prepared all week, Grant is as good of an assistant as I've ever had. The hardest thing was not being able to communicate. I still did the practices, but for 24 hours, I was dark, and it's hard because you want to text your guys, you want to talk to your guys, your players, your staff. That was the hardest part, but I had total confidence in Grant."

On primary emphasis for Michigan State:
"I think for me, trying to find a rotation now. I really struggled a bit in the first half trying to find a rotation that would work, that would be natural. I think we'll have to spend all day tomorrow and the next couple of days trying to find a rotation that continues to let us play offense smoothly. I screwed us up more than anybody with the rotation, so I think that's the biggest thing."

LIU vs. UMass Lowell Photo Gallery

Photos from Long Island University's 87-74 loss to UMass Lowell on November 8, 2019:

(All photos by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Seton Hall vs. Wagner Photo Gallery

Photos from Seton Hall's 105-71 win over Wagner on November 5, 2019:

(All photos by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)