Monmouth, Princeton basketball embrace Jersey showcase; is Seton Hall next?

TRENTON – For college basketball mid-majors like Princeton and Monmouth, it’s almost impossible to get an opponent from a bigger conference to visit their gym.

Friday’s Jersey Jam offered the next-best thing – a doubleheader that brought notable foes to their state.

Princeton took full advantage, rallying from 11 down in the second half to top Duquesne 75-68. Monmouth got steamrolled by Temple, 103-74. For programs not concerned about resumes and at-large NCAA Tournament chances – in their leagues, it’s all about peaking in March – this was an iron sharpener that didn’t require a trip to a hostile arena.

“Coach (Pete) Carril used to say to me all the time, ‘the non-conference doesn’t matter,’ and I would always be like, ‘It didn’t seem like you felt that way when you were coaching us,’” Princeton coach Mitch Henderson said. “I just want to keep getting better, and we’re getting a lot better with these games.”

After years of frustration in the scheduling department, this is exactly what Henderson wants. Duquesne is the reigning Atlantic 10 Tournament champion. That team is never visiting Jadwin Gym, even though the Tigers went to their place last season. The much-bigger Dukes punched the Tigers in the throat almost in the literal sense, treating star point guard Xaivian Lee like a rag doll as the officials swallowed their whistles. After absorbing the shock of a hoops-turned-rugby match, Lee punched back with 13 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds. So did teammates Cade Pierce (17 points, 5 boards), Dalen Davis (17 points) and Blake Peters (13 points).

The Tigers are now 2-0, having rallied past Iona in a shootout and Duquesne in a meat grinder.

“They’re seeing so much in these first two games how they might be played (down the road), so that’s really good for us,” Henderson said.

“We’re starting to figure it out,” Pierce said. “We’re a resilient group.”

A brutal gauntlet

Monmouth has to be resilient, too. A glance at its…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/monmouth-princeton-basketball-embrace-jersey-120510025.html

Author : App.com | Asbury Park Press

Publish date : 2024-11-09 12:05:00

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