Corey Washington, defense give Saint Peter’s encouraging first win over NJIT
If the first week of the season is any indication, the Peacocks’ defense will once again pose a problem for any team on their schedule.
NEWARK – NJIT’s home opener Saturday afternoon was well-attended, but the fans with the most to cheer about were those sitting behind the Saint Peter’s bench.
On the Peacocks’ 3-pointers, the occasional dunk and (tellingly) the defensive plays and scraps for rebounds on the floor, the Saint Peter’s fans made themselves heard. They were almost as loud as the team itself. Players, assistant coach Pete Cipriano and other staff were hyped up celebrating each big play of the second half.
And for contrast, there stood head coach Bashir Mason, arms folded more often than not, laser focused on the game unfolding in front of him.
“The demeanor on the sideline, you’ve got to come to one of our practices. I’m a Tasmanian devil,” Mason told me afterward. “Practice is mine, right – we’re crossing t’s, dotting i’s, making sure we’re getting everything right. And on game night, it’s them. If I gotta be yelling to play hard and be emotional on the bench and be into the game, then we’re in trouble. So on the sideline I’m just stoic and paying attention to what’s happening.”
With Corey Washington’s career night providing a major boost, Saint Peter’s tackled NJIT 75-48 for its first win of the season. If the first week of the season is any indication, the Peacocks’ defense will once again pose a problem for any team on their schedule.
When the season opened Monday, I was occupied with Princeton-Rutgers, but another game up the road nearly ended in a mid-major upsetting a Power 6 team as well. Saint Peter’s led Seton Hall for 19:31 of game time, outrebounded the Pirates 29-27 and made them work for the win. Seton Hall managed to get out from under a six-point deficit in the final nine minutes.
“We were in control of the game against Seton Hall. In the second half they shot (75) percent from the field,” Mason said. “Today, to hold these guys under I think 30 percent from the field, that was a response that we needed and we got to continue that moving forward.”
In fact, the Highlanders managed just 4-of-20 shooting in the second half – 20 percent.
They benefited from a tight whistle early on that led to four Saint Peter’s fouls in the first minute and change of the half. NJIT scored seven straight points to cut its deficit to 38-32.
Saint Peter’s scored 25 of the next 29 points. Game.
“We’re gonna foul with how aggressive we play,” Mason said. “It’s how we practice every day. But the response was great. The response was great to the adversity and it was a big part of why we ended up winning that way, because we responded to a big-time punch by them.”
Defense and toughness were calling cards for the Peacocks in Mason’s first season, too. They held opponents to 65.1 points per game, ranking 43rd in Division I according to sports-reference.com, but they ranked in the 340-350 range in various scoring and shooting categories. Improvement at that end of the floor was going to be imperative for 2023-24.
Washington looms as a major part of the solution. Washington made a name for himself locally about 12 months ago when he scored 18 points in his college debut in Saint Peter’s season-opening win over NJIT. On Saturday, he had 18 by halftime.
Washington beat the first-half buzzer with a 3-pointer for a 38-25 lead. He went 3-for-5 from the arc in the first half, impressive enough on its own – but they were the first made 3-pointers of his college career.
The 6-foot-6 forward from Arkansas did not attempt a three in a game last season. A ton of work behind the scenes went into Saturday’s moment.
“Really it’s just been getting in the gym every day, even since last year,” Washington told me. “Even though I’m not shooting it (in games), I’m still getting them up and working on my confidence for this year.”
It’s a tremendous development for a player who already brought a wide skill set to the court.
“That was the plan this summer with him, to build his game from the inside out,” Mason said. “He took it serious and developed his shot. He knocked a couple down early and the basket just ballooned (in size) for him.”
Washington finished with a double-double, also a first for him, with a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds. Those rebounds came from everywhere – five on offense, five on defense; some were fought for on the floor, others snatched out of the air when they looked out of reach. I asked Washington if he knows what his wingspan is.
“I don’t, but I’m told I have extendo-arms,” he said, “so I think that sums it up right there.”
A three-star recruit according to 247Sports, Washington committed to Saint Peter’s in the summer of 2022 after the Peacocks had gone on their Elite Eight run – and after Bashir Mason took over the job when Shaheen Holloway went to Seton Hall. Washington said his relationship with Mason on the recruiting trail was immediate.
“It’s great. I’m just like a product of him,” Washington said. “If you see me, you see him. It’s the same thing.”
It wasn’t the result NJIT was hoping for in the first home game of the Grant Billmeier era. The new coach called Saint Peter’s “an elite offensive rebounding and an elite defensive team.”
“There’s a certain standard that program has and Bashir has always had and they outplayed us in every facet today,” Billmeier told me.
Adam Hess went 4-for-4 from the arc to account for his team-best 12 points; he added six rebounds and two steals.
Mekhi Gray also had a standout afternoon in my eyes. The two steals in the final box score don’t fully represent how active he was on defense. He deflected multiple passes early in the game and spiked one blocked shot volleyball-style. Billmeier feels the senior will be a difference-maker when he plays like that.
The Highlanders are 0-2 – they lost at No. 13 Miami to open the season – but they have winnable games coming up against American, Delaware State and Wagner.
“I think the positive is we played a Final Four team and then we played one of the elite defensive teams in the country,” Billmeier said. “There’s a lot of stuff to take from this and a lot of stuff to learn from this, and this is gonna help us in the long run. Like I told our guys, championships aren’t won in November, and this is only gonna continue to get us better.”
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Good morning! I’m curious to see how this newsletter’s readership will perform on a Sunday morning. As I’ve mentioned, I’ll be sticking to a Tuesday-Thursday-Sunday schedule for the regular season; putting a newsletter out Sunday lets me be quicker to react to Saturday games instead of sitting on something until Monday at 9. We’ll see how you all like it.
As another quick reminder, beginning Nov. 21 all Tuesday editions will go behind a paywall. This is where I plan to serve up a broader range of opinion and analysis to make it worth your dollar. Thursday and Sunday will remain free to read for everyone.
Seton Hall 85, Fairleigh Dickinson 55. Shaheen Holloway: “I’ll be honest with you, I was a little nervous about this game, really nervous just because going up to Buffalo and doing what they did was pretty impressive. Going up there and beating a team like that on their home court, scoring 92 points and the way they played, they press and run, I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, we gotta play these guys in this small gym, that’s an advantage for them.’ But we kind of prepared as much as we can for them pretty well, and it’s always good to play at Walsh. Walsh is historic, it’s great, the atmosphere was great, so it was good for these guys to come out and experience that.”
Seton Hall had a 61-28 rebounding edge, as you might expect with a size advantage like that. Of note, Jaden Bediako started at the five and put up 12 points (4-of-5 shooting) and 10 rebounds in 16 minutes. He tangled with Ansley Almonor at the other end, and Almonor shot just 2-of-13 overall, 2-of-9 from deep. Holloway said Bediako switched onto smaller players a lot while at Santa Clara and was used to defending on the outside. “Overall, I’m proud of them (the bigs). They’re stepping up to the plate and they’re getting better every day.” (h/t Jaden Daly for Holloway transcripts.)
Gavin Griffiths had himself a memorable first game at the RAC. His 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting were the most points in a home opener by any Rutgers player since Kadeem Jack had 30 in 2013. Griffiths is going to be incredible to watch over the course of the season. After getting a win over Boston University under their belts, the Scarlet Knights are back in action today at noon against Bryant, who should be a modicum tougher than Boston.
Early returns are showing West Virginia will be pretty bad this season, what with everything that’s transpired there. But early returns also show that Monmouth is worlds better than a year ago. After the Hawks kept it close against George Mason but didn’t finish down the stretch, they toppled West Virginia 73-65. Don’t expect Xander Rice to score 30 every night, but this wasn’t just his doing. Jack Collins looked fantastic while getting his first collegiate double-double. The Hawks swarmed defensively and rebounded well against a Big 12 team. Their next game is the home opener Saturday against Princeton. I’ll be there.