Monmouth basketball: Abdi Bashir Jr. takes center stage in home opener vs. Fairfield

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WEST LONG BRANCH – When last seen at the Jersey Shore, Monmouth was winning its program record-tying 13th straight home game at OceanFirst Bank Center.

Now, after eight long weeks on the road to open the season, the Hawks return from an 11-game odyssey that included five flights, in desperate need of a win, record setting or otherwise.

After 10 losses in 11 games, and with a trip to No. 2 Auburn closing out the non-conference slate on Dec. 30, beating Fairfield (5-6), with a 296 KenPom ranking that is actually below Monmouth (286), is imperative for a team looking to prove its better than its record.

The men’s game, which tips off at 1 p.m., (SNY; FloCollege) is the opener in a double-header, with the Monmouth women taking on American in a 4:30 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia; FloCollege) start. Under first-year head coach Cait Wetmore, the Hawks have won four straight after an 0-6 start.

The Monmouth men come in off a tough 71-67 loss to Princeton, in a game featuring 25 lead changes.

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“It was probably our best game, against one of the better teams,” Monmouth head coach King Rice said. “I think our guys recognize we are slowing down on offense, that helped us a bunch. Princeton is a really good team so we wanted to show well.

Nov 30, 2024; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Monmouth Hawks guard Abdi Bashir Jr. (1) dribbles up court during the first half against the Seton Hall Pirates at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

“All of the sudden we executed, we didn’t just try to go one-on-one, we didn’t say ‘let’s go after Xaivian Lee because he’s an NBA guy.’ We said, ‘let’s play Monmouth basketball, let’s play as hard as we can and see where we end up,’ and we played a lot better.”

More: Despite strong effort, Monmouth falls to Princeton, 71-67, in controversial finish

Fairfield has a neutral court win over Vermont, and beat FDU and Rider,…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/monmouth-basketball-abdi-bashir-jr-101002010.html

Author : App.com | Asbury Park Press

Publish date : 2024-12-21 10:10:00

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