A difficult start against ranked opposition
Monmouth University began its men’s basketball season with a 78-63 defeat away to ranked St John’s, in a fixture played in Queens, New York. The result will be of interest to readers in Monmouth, Wales, because of the shared name, although the team involved is the American university’s Hawks programme rather than a local Welsh side.
The opening-night contest represented a demanding first test for Monmouth, which was facing a ranked opponent for the first time since the 2024 season. St John’s, listed as No. 13/14 in the university report, established control early and held off a series of attempts by the Hawks to reduce the gap.
Sanders leads the Hawks’ scoring
Jakai Sanders was Monmouth’s leading scorer with 17 points, while Madison Durr made an impact from the bench with 15. Ashton Walker added 11 points, giving the Hawks three players in double figures during the season opener.
Sanders also recorded a team-best five rebounds. Durr and Walker each collected two rebounds, while the Hawks finished the game shooting 42.9 per cent from the floor. St John’s shot 41.9 per cent, but gained an important advantage at the free-throw line and on the boards.
- Jakai Sanders: 17 points and five rebounds
- Madison Durr: 15 points from the bench
- Ashton Walker: 11 points
- Monmouth shooting: 42.9 per cent from the floor
Early setback proves costly
Monmouth scored first through a Stefanos Spartalis jumper, but St John’s answered with an 18-2 burst. That run put the hosts 18-4 ahead with 15 minutes and 41 seconds remaining in the opening half, leaving the Hawks with an early deficit to overcome.
The visitors showed signs of settling into the contest. Sanders’ three-pointer helped finish a 7-2 sequence that made the score 28-16, and Monmouth later scored eight of the next 10 points to move within 11 at 37-26. Jack Collins contributed a three-pointer during that passage of play. St John’s, however, closed the half strongly, scoring eight of the final 10 points to take a 45-29 lead into the interval.
Second-half response falls short
The Red Storm extended their advantage immediately after the restart, moving 50-31 in front with 18 minutes and 44 seconds left. Monmouth continued to compete and produced its strongest spell when a 7-1 run, including five points from Durr, reduced the margin to 59-47 with 9:07 remaining.
That recovery was checked by consecutive three-pointers from Ian Jackson, which restored a 19-point St John’s advantage at 67-48 with 6:29 on the clock. Monmouth finished with a 10-4 run, but the late push could not change the outcome. The Hawks did win the second-half scoring battle, 34-33, even though St John’s had already built the platform for victory.
The figures behind the result
| Measure | Monmouth | St John’s |
|---|---|---|
| Final score | 63 | 78 |
| Field-goal percentage | 42.9% | 41.9% |
| Rebounds | 31 | 40 |
| Second-half points | 34 | 33 |
The statistical contest was closer than the final margin in some areas, with Monmouth shooting slightly better from the field and outscoring St John’s after half-time. The decisive differences included the Red Storm’s 20 successful free throws from 25 attempts and a 40-31 rebounding advantage. Head coach King Rice acknowledged the quality of the opposition while pointing to the team’s response after the early setback.
“Tip your hat to St. John’s, we gave them a good run.”
For Monmouth, the next stage of the campaign will follow an opening defeat in which the Hawks demonstrated a capacity to recover but were unable to erase the damage from the first six minutes. Sanders, Durr and Walker supplied the bulk of the scoring, while the team’s second-half effort offered a more competitive balance than the half-time score suggested.
