Bottom exits in historic loss to Monmouth

NEWARK – With each blocked free throw, the gasps in the crowd of 4,000 grew louder.

Eventually they turned into boos.

It was one of those performances for the Seton Hall basketball team in Saturday’s 63-51 loss to previously winless Monmouth.

How historic was this result?

Seton Hall (4-4) posted a 15-0 all-time record against the Hawks, a streak that dates back to 1983. The Pirates have now lost three games against mid-majors and two of those were buy games at home – a first for the program since 2013-14. It’s the first time in Kenpom.com’s two decades of existence that they’ve lost to a team over .300.

Monmouth (1-8) came into the game ranked 315th^Th defensively, but the Pirates shot just 35 percent from the field, including 5 of 21 from 3-point range. Hall also made just 8 of 16 free throw attempts, about in line with her season average.

Defensively, the Pirates were outscored by Monmouth guard Abdi Bashir (28 points), outscored the game 19-9 in turnovers and were outscored by six points in rebounding.

This led to a low point in Shaheen Holloway’s third season at the helm.

“They just outplayed us and that’s sad and that’s on me,” Holloway said. “They were the hungrier team, that sucks. I can’t believe I’m saying this. King (Rice) did a good job preparing them.”

This is six days off since a promising performance at the Charleston Classic.

“You can’t practice like we did… it felt like there was no energy all week,” said sophomore wing Isaiah Coleman, who led the Hall with 20 points. “That’s up to us, and I’ll take that on the chin.”

When asked why the energy was low, Coleman blamed the team’s leaders, including himself.

“The older ones started out indifferent to us and that somehow rubbed off on the younger ones,” he said. “If they see that we’re not doing 100 (percent) like we’re supposed to, that carries over. So that’s on us and I’ll take it.”

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

1-Addae-Wusu was sorely missed

Postgraduate guard Dylan Addae-Wusu didn’t dress after missing practice all week because of the flu.

His absence was glaring.

Addae-Wusu is the Pirates’ top defender and should have defended high-profile Hawks guard Abdi Bashir (19.5 ppg). He is also a 42 percent 3-point shooter. These traits are often overshadowed by his ball-handling snafus, which draw a lot of attention from frustrated fans. But it was obvious the Pirates couldn’t replace his toughness and experience.

“I’m different, man, I’m not giving us an excuse,” Holloway said when asked about Addae-Wusu’s absence. “Monmouth beat us.” Does it hurt us that Dylan isn’t there? Yes, of course. He’s one of our leaders, one of the people out there that I trust. But they just outclassed us and that’s sad and that’s my fault. As a coach, that is my responsibility.”

2. Abdi Bashir, bow down

After leading Rutgers in Piscataway with 38 points on 10 3-pointers, Monmouth’s sophomore guard from Omaha wanted an encore in Newark. He finished with 28 points on 11 of 19 shooting, including 6 of 9 from 3-point range, and was clearly the best player on the field.

The difference between the two missions: Seton Hall knew what he was capable of after what happened on the turnpike.

Holloway launched Isaiah Coleman on Bashir, and after committing two quick fouls, he tried a series of defenders, to no avail. The Pirates actually contested about half of Bashir’s 3-pointers, but lost him surprisingly often.

“With a win like this, Abdi will go crazy again, just like he did after Rutgers,” Rice said. “Please leave him alone. We know what lies ahead at the end of the year. Everyone get in line. So he can be the guy who can take care of his family afterwards. Don’t call him now and tell him to leave tomorrow and all that. Maybe somewhere he’ll be cool and I’ll be cheering him on. But this new world is hard.

3. The point guard failure continues

Holloway brought Providence transfer Garwey Dual back into the lineup, but the sophomore guard failed to generate offense.

As promised, Holloway gave freshman guard Jahseem Felton a long run after some promising performances at the Charleston Classic. But Felton had major problems on both sides.

Backup point guard Zion Harmon missed a fifth straight game for personal reasons and was not in attendance. He is still in the squad.

The task of handling the ball, defending Bashir at times and scoring proved too much to ask of post-graduate Chaunce Jenkins. The Pirates’ most productive player so far this season appeared to be overwhelmed, finishing with 12 points on 4 of 12 shooting.

“I need to get more out of everyone, not just the point guard,” Holloway said. “Today was a very bad game for us. It sucks because we’re at home. You want to build on what you did last week in Charleston and I thought today would be a total disappointment.”

4. Time for big changes

Holloway has done the impossible before, taking Saint Peter’s to the Elite Eight, but because of the stage and the stakes, this is his biggest challenge yet. He’s put together a team that has to play a near-perfect game defensively every time out, and that’s a tough way to live. Several players’ confidence appeared to be shaken as they kept allowing open looks. The rotation is too deep, there is no flow on offense, the roles don’t seem to be clearly defined and for the first time this season the team wasn’t working at full throttle.

This loss, like the Fordham loss, is due less to Seton Hall’s well-documented fundraising problems than to Holloway and his assistants getting the most out of their staff. There will be time to discuss Seton Hall’s NIL, but a home loss to Monmouth by 12 is not the time. This shouldn’t happen no matter what the payroll is.

“We didn’t look like ourselves today,” Holloway said. “We didn’t build on what we did in the two games in Charleston and come in here and have that killer instinct to start three games at home. “Monmouth was the hungrier team, which sucks, I can’t believe me saying that. King did a good job keeping her ready.”

Sha must continue to be Sha. He knows how to do it. You don’t get a shaking leg and start changing your clothes, otherwise he wouldn’t be Shaheen

5. No crowd, no juice

After Seton Hall fans took over the arena at the Charleston Classic, the mood was completely opposite. The crowd was as small as possible at the Rock, with only a few rows of students showing up.

ByAmelia Journalton

By Amelia Journalton

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