St. Peter’s defeats Monmouth in predawn meeting

JERSEY CITY , N.J. – Prior to Tuesday’s 6 a.m. game, as part of the ESPN marathon, both Monmouth coach Dave Calloway and John Dunne of St. Peter’s were concerned about the early start. Dunne was especially apprehensive when he entered his team locker room. “The team was listening to music and seemed full of energy,” Dunne said. “It was 5 o’clock in the morning and I was concerned that they wouldn’t be able to sustain that energy.” Dunne’s fears were soon alleviated. St. Peter’s basically dominated from tip to buzzer, defeating Monmouth 58-34.
Forget the early start. Both teams came out strong with late season style intensity. St. Peter’s man-to-man defense was very effective and allowed the Peacocks to pull away to a 27-16 halftime lead. They contested perimeter shots and made it tough inside for 6-8 Travis Taylor, Monmouth’s main threat in the paint. The first half the Hawks shot 4 of 22 (18 percent ) from the floor.
The second half did not fare much better for the visitors. They were never able to get a significant run going. The defense turned in another notable 20 minutes as the Peacocks earned their initial win of the season. Taylor led all scorers with 12 points. Wesley Jenkins led a balanced St. Peter’s attack with 10 points. Monmouth finished shooting 10 of 47 (21 percent) from the field.
Notes

• Monmouth opened its new arena with a win over Isiah Thomas’ Florida International on Friday. On Sunday they dropped a home contest to Seton Hall. “We had emotional games (counting St. Peter’s) in five days, “ Calloway said. “That’s not to discredit St. Peter’s. Their defense was just outstanding.”

• MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor was in attendance. Just after the game Ensor was off to Albany to catch Siena-Northeastern at noon. Ensor had to be pleased as the MAAC had 3 wins during the marathon. Besides St. Peter’s and Siena, Niagara earned a win over Drexel.
• SID Dan Drutz of St. Peter’s reported 27 credential requests. Among them were representatives of both New York and NJ papers and outlets.
• Burt Shoobs, FDU’s PA announcer and basketball fanatic, was in attendance. Burt said the night before he announced his 691st consecutive FDU (he works both men’s and women’s ) game. For this game he arrived at Yanitelli Center at 4:40 am. “To beat the crowd,” he said.
• St. Peter’s students had all-night activities in the Yanitelli bubble. Included were music, kick ball and wiffle ball tournaments followed by a buffet breakfast at 4 am. “I woke up at three thirty unable to sleep,” Jenkins said. “It was noise from the bubble.”
• Pre-game preparations were altered. Instead of pasta and potato carbo loading, both teams opted for bagels as a pre-game meal. Monmouth held a 6 a.m. practice on Monday to get acclimated. The Hawks came up the morning of the game with their bus departing campus (50 miles from Jersey City) at 3:15 a.m.
• Dunne was concerned how his team would respond after the tough loss to Seton Hall on Friday. “I’m proud of my kids,” Dunne said. “Our substitutes allowed us to rest the starters and we established our game inside/out as it should be.”
• St. Peter’s received solid contributions off the bench from freshman guard Steven Samuels (9 points) while Jamin Shumate, another first-year player, also did a nice job.
• Calloway would play another 6 a.m. game like this in a minute. “In our league (NEC) we get national exposure when you get to the NCAA tournament,” he said. “Here we are in November on national TV. The positives of a game like this far outweigh the negatives.”
• Appropriately, the first basket of the game was on an inside move by (Ryan) Bacon of St. Peter’s.
• While some players opted to rest after the game, Bacon was off to a 9:30 class and a quiz.

On The Baseline

• Monmouth had a great pep band (right behind us). But hearing My Sharona blast your eardrums at 7:10 am was tough.
• Both team had a pep band and cheerleaders. Monmouth brought 24 cheerleaders. The Monmouth squad cheered their women’s game at 7 the night before , then boarded the bus from West Long Branch at 4:30. And did a fine job.
• Monmouth had a good, vocal following of students. They did break an unwritten code by booing the St. Peter’s cheerleaders when they took the floor and chanting, “you are ugly.” Apparently the “basketball gods” took notice.
• Leaving Yanitelli Center at 8:30 after post-game interviews, the St. Peter’s campus was noticeably quiet, a contrast from the previous few hours.