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Posts Tagged ‘men’s basketball’
Friday, February 12th, 2010
Last night, the Monmouth University Hawks lost a home game to the Mount St. Mary Mountaineers (also known as “The Mount”) in front of 1,238 fans at the MAC Center in West Long Branch, New Jersey. Unlike Monmouth’s recent 66 – 63 loss to FDU, last night’s game (for the most part) didn’t maintain a close score. The Mount was more effective at scoring points and they won the game – very simple.  Shadow's Entrance Video However, even though the final score wasn’t close that doesn’t mean the Hawks stood still and took a beating. Not at all, actually. Instead, they came out in the second half and played with the type of desire and energy that you would expect of a championship team. Unfortunately, the Hawks just couldn’t get the ball in the basket and without doing that, you can’t win the game (there’s my John Madden moment for the day). The worst showing came in the three pointer stats where the Hawks were only 16 percent last night. Not good. I don’t have The Mount’s three pointer stats, but they were slamming them left and right in the very beginning of the game and towards the end of the game. Overall, the Hawks only shot 29 percent. Watching the team miss so many shots made the first half drag on; it’s not fun to watch so many missed opportunities for the home team. Hawks Captain Whitney Coleman commented on the missed shots during the post-game press conference (courtesy of the Asbury Park Press):
“Losing is miserable,” said Monmouth fifth-year senior Whitney Coleman. “We need to make shots.”
Coleman’s right – if Monmouth could sink a few more of the shots that they are taking each game, they’d be beating teams like FDU and The Mount. It was encouraging, though, to see the Hawks not give up after being down by double digits at the half. That shows that there is a lot of heart and determination on this Hawks team.
The Asbury Park Press has some great articles about last night’s game where you can get all of the notes, statistics, and quotes from the players and coaches. I’d suggest checking out Tony Graham’s column or Steve Edelson’s column. Mr. Edelson, in particular, focuses on how the team has been hurt by not having Travis Taylor playing for the last seven games. Lucky for Hawks fans – Taylor is back starting Saturday night against Wagoner. The Hawks have also had a great deal of difficulty penetrating their opponents’ defenses. Hopefully, with Taylor returning they can find more success in that area, too.
In the coming days (possibly tomorrow), I’ll be posting some random thoughts about my visits to the MAC Center to watch Monmouth basketball this season. Particularly, I have some comments on The Varsity Club at the MAC. Until then, though, below are 30+ pictures from last night’s game. Enjoy!
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The Final Score
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Cheerleaders Waiting for the Team
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Shadow’s Entrance Video
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The Tip-Off
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Hawks Cheerleaders
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Hett Drives to the Hoop
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Mount Foul Shot
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Hawks on Defense
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Hawks on Defense
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DelTufo Foul Shot
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DelTufo Foul Shot
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Letting the Clock Run Out
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Hawks Strategy Session
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Full Court View
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Full Court View
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Full Court View
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3 Point Shot
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Hawks Set Up Defense
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Waite Foul Shot
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Waite Stats
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Waite Foul Shot
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Hawks on Defense
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And the Whistle Blows
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3 Point Shot
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MAC Center Says Get Loud
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Hawks Strategy Session
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Mount Strategy Session
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Hawks on Offense
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Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
Earlier tonight, the Monmouth University Hawks won their fourth game of the season by defeating the Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi Islanders by a final score of 65 to 51. For the majority of the game, the Hawks maintained a strong lead over the Islanders. However, at some point in the fourth quarter the Islanders took over amid what looked like a defensive breakdown for Monmouth. And when the Islanders took over, their fans – who were silent for most of the game – responded enthusiastically. But it wasn’t long before the rest of the meager crowd (all Hawks fans) had something to cheer about as the Monmouth defense shored up their play while the offense went on a bit of a scoring run, putting up some 18 points in the final few minutes of the game.
The Asbury Park Press interviewed Monmouth University head coach Dave Calloway earlier in the week and one comment he made about his team is that they have to be more consistent. Tonight, Monmouth fans almost saw the return of the inconsistency that has plagued the Hawks during the second half of most of their games. They almost saw that return… The run that the team went on in the final minutes was great and I hope that they continue to bring that level of aggressive play to the second half of each of their games.
Enjoy the thirty something pictures from the game below.
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Sunday, December 13th, 2009
Last night in a Northeast Conference versus Ivy League competition the Monmouth University Hawks defeated the University of Pennsylvania in men’s basketball by a score of 80 – 75. The game took place in West Long Branch at Monmouth’s MAC Center in front of a reported attendance of 1,445. And hey, this was the first time that UPenn ever lost to an NEC team and the first time that the Hawks ever beat the Quakers. Pretty exciting for Hawk fans, huh?
Below is a quick report from the AP on the game as well as almost 50 pictures from the game and some of my thoughts.
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Travis Taylor scored 28 points and Monmouth (N.J.) earned an 80-75 victory over Penn on Saturday night.
Taylor shot 12-for-14 for the Hawks (3-7), who snapped a four-game losing streak. Whitney Coleman contributed 20 points and eight assists.
A jumper by Taylor early in the second half gave the Hawks a 58-48 lead with 13:35 remaining, but Penn went on an 11-2 run to cut the lead to 60-59 with 10:53 left.
The Quakers (0-7) would later tie the score at 73 with two free throws from Zach Rosen with 2:13 left on the clock. But Penn was unable to take the lead, as they Quakers were outscored 7-2 in the final 2 minutes.
Rosen led Penn with 23 points. He shot 7-for-12 from the field, and nailed five 3-pointers. Mike Howlett chipped in with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Monmouth shot 52 percent from the field (26-for-50).
I’m always impressed by Whitney Coleman, Will Campbell, and Travis Taylor when I watch the Hawks play. The Hawks are really a great team whose abilities are better than their 3 and 7 record. But I think that once conference competition begins the Hawks will prove just how talented they are in the NEC.
Overall, the Hawks played well, but the Quakers weren’t so terrible and are probably a better team than their 0 and 7 record. This was the type of game that either team could have won, but it’s worth mentioning that this is also the type of game that was Monmouth’s to lose. For a while in the beginning of the second half it seemed like the Hawks were going to let their lead slip away, but the defense came alive and Monmouth maintained their lead in the final minutes. Of course, UPenn did come back to tie it up late in the game, but the Hawks succeeded in the end.
And now… Almost 50 pictures from last night’s game for you to enjoy!
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An empty MAC Center, well after the game ended
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Captain Whitney Coleman joins the 1,000 Point Club
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Hawks win!
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The score at the half
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A quick timeout for strategy after an early lead
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The tip off
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Shadow the Hawk
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Santa Claus was in attendance, too
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Getting ready for game time
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“Shadow” flying into the MAC
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“Shadow” flying into the MAC
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Pregame warm up
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Sunday, November 15th, 2009
After a rousing victory against Florida International University on Friday night, the Monmouth University Hawks came up slightly short against the Seton Hall University Pirates. A little earlier today, the Hawks went down 72 – 87 in a game that was much more competitive than a 15 point difference.
 Monmouth wins the tip off against SHU Seton Hall is a very tough, aggressive team with some stellar athletes playing for them. To their credit, they played a great full court press style of defense the entire game and it took the Monmouth players a little while to adequately fight back. I was impressed with Seton Hall’s overall team speed, too. They’re a quick bunch of guys and, as anyone who has played a competitive sport can tell you, speed comes in handy as the game goes on.
As for the Hawks, I was impressed with their overall cohesion as a team, but I’d like to see them start playing a little bit more aggressively throughout the game. They don’t need to generate a ton of fouls, but they shouldn’t be afraid of some physical contact with their opponents. And free throws. They have to hit their free throws. I’m not sure when the box score and statistics will be available for this game, but I would bet that they’ll show the Hawks missing a large percentage of their free throws. In fact, I bet that if they hit all of their free throws, the final score may have been a lot closer and possibly in their favor…
On a day when the Monmouth University men’s soccer team won the NEC Championship, the men’s basketball team came up a little bit short. But that’s okay. I’m sure the team will bounce back and have a great game against St. Peter’s College in Jersey City, New Jersey. That game is at 6:00am and on ESPN, so if you happen to be getting up early in the morning to get ready for work – look for it!
If you’re friends with me on Facebook, head over to my page to take a look at some pictures from today’s game. Enjoy!
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Saturday, November 14th, 2009
Earlier tonight, the Monmouth University men’s basketball team won their home opener (and their first home game ever in the MAC Center) by beating Florida International University 99 – 70. As a season ticket holder, I was at the game and I have to say that it was absolutely phenomenal. The Hawks soundly beat a team coached by NBA Hall of Fame member Isiah Thomas and they beat them with no questions about who the better team was – the Hawks dominated, hands down.  The final score of the MU vs. FIU game In my view, the Hawk players of the game were #10 Will Campbell, #25 Travis Taylor, and #5 Whitney Coleman. Taylor, in particular, was dominant for most of the night. The FIU team played aggressively with a few minutes left on the clock and I’m sure that their aggressive play with help them in future games. However, the Hawks managed to not just to win, but to win by 29 points and nearly broke the 100 point barrier in their first game of the season! It really was a great win for the basketball team and, as an alumnus of the university, it was great to see such strong (and vocal) student support. That’s the type of experience that many of my fellow alumni and I never had the opportunity to get while we were undergraduates, but I like that the current generation of students have this great facility and a great team to cheer on!
And on that point, there are a bunch of Monmouth University alumni from the late 1990’s/early 2000’s that have some degree of bitterness towards the university for a variety of reasons. As someone who was always aggravated that the college completely botched my graduation back in the spring of 2003, I have to admit that I was very impressed with the production tonight. It all went off perfectly and the entire show made me slightly proud to be from Monmouth. And for those of you that know me, you know that this statement means something else coming from my mouth! For those of you who are friends with me on Facebook, you can check out over 50 pictures from the game.
I can’t wait for the big game against Seton Hall this Sunday afternoon – if you’re in the Monmouth area you should check it out!
Mainstream Coverage of the Monmouth victory over FIU: Miami Herald | The New York Times | Asbury Park Press (PDF Download)
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Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
Now that I’ve had some more time to reflect on the MACE Award presentation that I attended last night at Monmouth University’s new MAC Center, I thought that I would offer some additional comments.
- Parking. Although the attendance for last night’s event was only around 200 people, I thought that the parking situation wasn’t a problem at all. In fact, in the pass card protected lot where I park there were an abundance of open spaces. I would imagine that if the pass card protected lots are opened up for major sporting events, concerts, and the like that there will be very minor parking issues.
- Acoustics. The acoustics in the MAC Center are wonderful. Through the combination of the brand new public announcement system and the design of the building itself, every word was heard clearly and crisply during the entire discussion. I’m sure that basketball games and other sporting events will only benefit from this setup.
- Guest Space/Flow. I’m not sure if “guest space/flow” is the right title for this observation, but I did want to comment on how easily it was to get to the MACE Award presentation once I was at the MAC Center. First, there is a large staircase that leads into the Leon Hess Hall of Champions, which is the area outside of the actual arena itself (I think that’s what they call it). Then, the track area inside of the arena is wide and spacious and allows for large groups of people to move around the lower bowl of the facility with no problem at all. The same goes for the area outside of the large staircase.
It’s clear that I like the MAC Center given the recent posts on my blog and my constant references to the building. Next Friday afternoon I head over to the university for seat selection for my season tickets – which should be pretty exciting.
Posted in College & Fraternity Life, Entertainment, Local People & Politics, Sports | No Comments »
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