WEST LONG BRANCH -- Monmouth men's basketball showed a lot of promise for the 2026-2027 season when it brought Seton Hall down to the wire in an exhibition match Saturday night before falling 53-50.
With the game tied 50-50, Seton Hall was able to get a stop with 28.9 seconds left. Out of the timeout, Rodney Brown hit a winning corner 3-pointer.
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Seton Hall head coach Shaheen Holloway and Monmouth head coach King Rice had a friendly exchange after the shot.
The two Garden State schools have typically met in the regular season; this preseason meeting was designed to raise money for both program’s rosters. Though it was an exhibition game, the intensity felt real throughout OceanFirst Bank Center.
For Monmouth this season, there's a fair amount of backcourt depth thanks to the re-enrollments of Jack Collins and Madison Durr. The starting five consisted of Ashton Walker, Lureon Walker, Jakai Sanders, Stefan Marjanovic, and Stefanos Spartalis. Walker had a team-high 11 points.
Monmouth played well defensively against the Big East visitors but trailed for most of the game until a breakaway dunk by Sanders gave the Hawks the 42-40 lead with under seven minutes left.
4 takeaways for the Hawks:
1. Defensive pressure leads to eight Hawks with steals
The amount of depth in the backcourt for Monmouth runs deep and the Hawks spent much of their time pressuring the ball, denying passes and even switching out on ball handlers. Monmouth was able to force turnovers and get the ball down the court at a high speed without needing to pass the ball. Players filled lanes and attacked the basket while in transition. Eight different Hawks had at least one steal on Saturday night. When beat, Monmouth helped in the paint while also flying out to open players around the arc. Seton Hall got called for multiple shot clock violations along with committing turnovers.
2. Monmouth shows strong ability to attack basket
The verdict is still out whether Monmouth has some consistent 3-point shooters, but one thing is for sure, the team has athletic guys who can beat defenders off the dribble. Sanders, Lo Walker and Ashton Walker each stood out as guys who got paint touches when committed to it. However, at times, it did lead to players caught in a tough spot underneath the basket and surrounded by Big East bigs -- which led to turnovers or forced shots. It's clear that these guards will be tough to stay in front of for most teams they face.
3. 5th-year players work their way in with limited time
The Hawks were predicted to end up in the middle of the pack within the Coastal Athletic Association this year, but that's before Durr and Collins returned. The two fifth-year players came off the bench and had some good moments on both ends of the floor. Collins got in with just under five minutes left in the first half and hit a mid range jumper within minutes. Durr got to the free throw line and also played a part in forcing Seton Hall to commit turnovers. They were also seen directing the younger players and communicating in-between dead balls.
Durr didn't have a name on the back of his jersey due to coming back after the uniforms were ordered.
4. Crashing boards a point of emphasis
In an open practice last week, Rice made it a point of emphasis of rebounding and pointed out it being a factor in the CAA championship game last year. Seton Hall got 15 offensive boards in their last meeting. On Saturday, all five Monmouth players were seen crashing the boards. Though Seton Hall the rebounding battle 38-33, Monmouth has shown improvement.
Spartalis, a returning starter for the Hawks, was impressive on the boards. He also looked to have slimmed down and looked more agile and quick on his feet. At times, his hard hard play resulted in costly fouls and he left with his fifth foul with 3:37 left.
Monmouth will have one more exhibition game when it hosts Rhode Island College at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Monmouth basketball key takeaways from exhibition game against Seton Hall