Monmouth stifles Princeton, drives away to convincing Thanksgiving Eve win

Walker Miller blocks a layup attempt by Princeton's Jaelin Llewellyn as Monmouth locked down Tigers in second half Wednesday. (Photo by Monmouth University Athletics)

By Jaden Daly (@DalyDoseOfHoops)

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. — With two of its top six players under the weather and a third medically compromised enough to have to come off the bench, Monmouth played a shorter rotation than normal Wednesday night.

The lack of depth was merely a footnote to a second half that flipped the script in more ways than one.

Trailing by as many as 14 points against Princeton in the first half, Monmouth turned the battle of New Jersey mid-majors on its head after halftime, conceding just one field goal in the final 8:39 of regulation and allowing a meager 18 second-half markers to the visiting Tigers, using its defense to create offense while pulling away to a decisive 76-64 victory — the Hawks’ fourth straight after a two-point loss to Charlotte in their season opener — at the OceanFirst Bank Center.

“I thought our defense ramped up in the second half,” head coach King Rice remarked as Monmouth (4-1) limited a Princeton team with high-major victories against Oregon State and South Carolina on its ledger to just 24 percent shooting over the game’s final 20 minutes. “They were just working us and we talked about it, because we were half a step slow on everything, and then our defense of talking to each other — communication — was so good in the second half, I think that got into their legs and they were a little bit tired, and we were able to get away from them.”

With Nikkei Rutty (flu) and Myles Ruth (pinkeye) unavailable, the Hawks found themselves victimized by Princeton’s trademark backdoor cuts and precise, timely 3-point shooting in the opening stanza, qualities that manifested themselves most notably in the latter stages of the first half, when the Tigers ripped off a 13-2 run to open up their largest advantage of the game, at 44-30. But Monmouth — paced by Shavar Reynolds after the senior’s own flu-like symptoms were controlled enough for him to enter the game — unleashed a 9-2 spurt before the end of the half, cutting its deficit in half to a more manageable seven points entering the locker room.

“In the first half, we were a little lax,” Reynolds admitted. “We weren’t as aggressive as we usually were. In the second half, we made more of an effort to pick up 94 feet, try to push them out more, don’t let them be so comfortable. Before we were switching, we were giving them more lanes, spreading them out and just leaving Walker (Miller) on an island, so we just tightened up a little more and then we contested shots a little more.”

Reynolds not only spearheaded the defensive rally, he also led the offensive charge with his patented clutch shot prowess. The Seton Hall transfer buried a 3-pointer almost six minutes removed from the intermission to tie the score at 55 apiece, and after the Tigers and Hawks traded baskets, drained back-to-back triples to fuel a 21-5 outburst that gave Monmouth a lead it would never relinquish.

“I was just shooting it,” Reynolds casually said. “My teammates believed in me, they just kept looking for me. That’s another test to Coach Rice. You don’t have to worry with him, you don’t have to second-guess your shot, you could just play. As long as you give him that same effort defensively, he’ll let you just play your game. Coach Rice allowed me to be myself.”

Monmouth embarks upon a five-game road trip beginning Saturday against Cincinnati, but does so with renewed momentum, optimism, and overall positive energy after making perhaps its most resonant statement two weeks into the young season.

“The fact that we rallied and beat them as much as we did, that just shows how good our team is and how together we are,” said George Papas. “This is, for sure, among the top three happiest moments I’ve ever felt after a win. It was just a battle and I’m so happy with our guys.”