ABOUT THE RED FOXES: Its the battle for sole possession of first place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference as Marist and Iona take to the floor of the McCann Center on Wednesday night in the regular season series finale. Marist, entering the final game of the three-game homestand, is looking to avenge January 22nds loss, 69-81, to the Gaels. The Red Foxes are winners of their last nine straight home games and have not suffered a set back to a MAAC team on the McCann Center court. Junior point guard Sean Kennedy, emerged on the scene as not only the top assist man, but also a top scoring threat. Kennedy has led the Red Foxes in scoring in the last three outings. Senior forward Drew Samuels returned to action after missing the last three games, scoring just one point in seven minutes.

THE SERIES: Marist is looking tie the season-series as the Gaels handed Marist a 69-81 loss at the Mulcahy Center just nine days ago. The defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Champs hold the all-time series record 3-10, including a 6-2 mark in MAAC conference play. The first match-up occured during the 1983-84 season with the Gaels handing the Red Foxes a 59-74 loss at the McCann Center. Iona took the next meeting as well (78-86 - 1984-85 ) before Marist picked up its first win over Iona, 87-68 in December of 1985. The two teams squared off once more in the Red Foxes NCAA season in 1986-87, a 53-62 Iona win, before they became conference rivals when the Marist joined the MAAC in 1997. Iona sweept just one season series, back in the Red Foxes first season in the league. The two teams have faced each other twice in the MAAC Tournament, both times in the second round. Iona stopped Marists run in 1998 with a 55-76 loss, while the Red Foxes upset the Gaels in the first round of the 1999 tournament with a 71-69 win.

GAEL OUTLOOK: Iona brings a pair of NCAA statistical leaders to the Marist campus. Nakiea Miller not only is the Gaels leading scorer (15.2 ppg) and rebounder (8.6), but also ranks 10th in the nation in blocks (3.3 bpg) and first in field goal percentage (.705). Dyree Wilson checks into tonights game with a 14.5 ppg average, while senior transfer Earl Johnson suits up as the Gaels third leading scoring threat at a 12.2 ppg mark. Johnson is also 15th in the country in three-point field goal percentage having knocked down 27-of-52 shots from long range for .519 percent.

LAST TIME AGAINST IONA:

January 22, 2001 -- The Marist College men's basketball team (11-7, 6-2 MAAC) fell to the defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions, the Iona Gaels (14-6, 7-2 MAAC) this evening, 69-81, in front of a crowd of 1,405 at the Mulcahy Center in New Rochelle, NY. Junior point guard Sean Kennedy netted a new season-high 18 points in leading the Red Foxes, while Sherman Whittenburg came off the Marist bench to net 17 points. Senior co-captain Blake Sonne added nine points on 3-of-8 shooting from downtown. Kennedy and Whittenburg each converted four-point plays, as they were fouled on made three-point attempts. The Gaels had four players in double figures led by Earl Johnson and Nakiea Miller who came off the Iona bench to score 21 and 19 points respectively. The Gaels held the Red Foxes to just 35 percent shooting from the floor (25-of-70), while shooting at a 54.4 percent (30-of-55) mark. Marist was down at the half by 19 points, 22-41, with just four players scoring in the first half. Marist closed in by 14 points (31-45) on a 13-7 run sparked at the 18:07 mark in the second half, but Iona held Marist scoreless for the next three and half minutes to go up by 25 (63-38). Johnson's three-pointer at the 6:30 mark gave the Gaels a 26 point edge, their largest of the game. Marist finished the game down by 12, ending on a 22-8 run.

LAST TIME OUT -

January 28, 2001 -- The Marist College mens basketball team (13-7, 8-2 MAAC) completed the season sweep of Manhattan (8-11, 5-4 MAAC) by defeating the Jaspers, 80-63, and moved into a first place tie in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Red Foxes sit atop the MAAC standings along with Iona, who Marist will host on Wednesday night at the McCann Center. Marists Sean Kennedy led all scorers with 18 points, tying his season-best. Junior Rick Smith added 15 points, while sophomore Nick Eppehimer and senior Donald Vale each added 10 points. Together, Kennedy, Smith, Eppehimer and Vale combined for 80 percent of the Red Fox offense. Manhattan was led by Jared Johnson with 14 points, while Michael Johnson came off the Jasper bench to net 13 points. Von Damien Green and Durelle Brown added 12 and 10 points respectively. The Jaspers went up by as many as eight points in the opening stanza, but the Red Foxes used a 7-2 run to close the half and enter the lockerroom down by just three points, 31-34. Marist held Manhattan scoreless for the opening four minutes of play in the second half, going on a 9-0 run sparked by two three-pointers by Eppehimer. Two foul shots by Smith put the Red Foxes up by 16, their largest lead of the game, with 9:44 remaining. Manhattan chipped away at the lead in the final minutes, pulling within two points with just over a minute remaining. However, Marist held the Jaspers scoreless in the final seconds as the Red Foxes sank four of five free throws for the six-point win. The Jaspers shot 53.6 percent in the opening half, but the Red Fox defense held the Jaspers to just 32.3 percent in the second half. Marist finished the game connecting on 20-of-49 shots (40.8 percent). Marist also outrebounded Manhattan, 40-28, to improve to 9-0 when outrebouding its opponent.

SWEEPING: The Red Foxes collected their second season sweep by defeating Manhattan 72-66 at the McCann Center on Sunday. Marist defeated the Jaspers 64-60 in the first meeting back in early December. Marist also took two games from Loyola.

HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE: The Red Foxes will close a three-game homestand as they duke it out for sole possession of first place with Iona on Wednesday night. Marist is currently 10-1 at the McCann Center with their last loss coming at the hands of East Carolina back on November 18th. It is the best home record since the 1994-95 season when the Red Foxes went 10-2 at the McCann Center.

MAAC PLAY: Marist is currently tied for the top spot in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with eight conference victories. This is the best conference start for the Red Foxes since they joined the league during the 1997-98 season. The most league games won by the Red Foxes at this point during the season was four during both the 1997-98 and 1999-2000 seasons. The most MAAC regular season games won by any Red Fox squad was 10 recorded last season.

KENNEDYS LINE: Sean Kennedy was named the Chase/MAAC Player of the Week for the week ending Sunday, January 28th. The junior point guard averaged 16.7 points, six rebounds, and 5.7 assists in the Red Foxes 2-1 week. Playing nearly all forty minutes in all three conference games, averaging 37.7 minutes, the Northport, NY native connected on 17-of-33 shots (52 percent) and 9-of-21 (43 percent) from long range. Kennedy was also perfect from the line against Iona and Manhattan and missed just one free throw all week. He currently ranks third in the nation in assists, amassing 146 this season to average 8.1 dishes per game. Kennedy netted a new season-high in points against Iona with 18 and tied it again with 18 points against Manhattan. He nearly missed a triple-double against then-league leading Rider, with 14 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. Kennedy led the Red Foxes in scoring in all three games this week and has netted 10 or more points on eight occasions this season.

NOT IN OUR HOUSE: The Red Foxes improved to 10-0 at home against the Broncs with a 61-56 victory last Thursday night. Additionally, Marist has not allowed the Jaspers to win a contest at the James J. McCann Center since they became MAAC rivals in 1997. The Red Foxes improved to 4-0 at home against Manhattan in league play with a 72-66 win on Sunday afternoon.

EARLY BIRTHDAY PRESENT: Head coach Dave Magarity, who celebrated his birthday this past Friday, was given an early birthday present by the Red Fox squad with a win over the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference leader, Rider, last Thursday night.

FIVE IN A ROW: Marist dropped just its first game in conference play with a 67-85 loss to Fairfield on the afternoon of January 15th. The Red Foxes began league play with five straight win in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, having defeated Manhattan, Siena, Loyola, St. Peters, and Niagara to open up conference play. It is the best MAAC conference start for the Red Foxes in school history. They opened the 1998-99 season with three straight conference wins over Siena (93-87), Manhattan (60-58), and Fairfield (78-77).

SAMUELS UPDATE: Drew Samuels made his first appearance on the court since suffering a bone chip in his ankle. Samuels logged one point in just seven minutes against the Jaspers. He had missed the three prior outings due to the injury and took to the floor for the first time since the 18-point loss to Fairfield at the Pepsi Arena on Martin Luther King Day. Drew Samuels will dress for this tonights game against the Gaels and is questionable to start. Samuels, who had missed the last three outings, sprained his ankle during practice two weeks ago. His status is day-to-day.

SEASON DISHING: Sean Kennedy has recently secured a spot as one of Marist College's top ten all-time season assist leaders. After racking up 37 assists in his last five games, Kennedy took his total this season to 147 assists. Kennedy moved past Dexter Dunbar, who dished out 130 assists during the 1992-93 season, to secure the 10th spot on the list. The junior guard needs 101 more assists in the last 10 games of this season to pass Drafton Davis (1983-84), who holds the top three slots. Davis accumulated 248 assists in Marist's NCAA season in 1986 to hold the all-time season record.

TULLIS GETS THE NOD: Junior Matt Tullis gave his best performance of the year in last Saturday nights starting debut. Tullis, who received the starting nod from Dave Magarity in place of the suspended Marius Janisius, recorded a season-high 14-points and 11-rebounds enroute to his first double-double of the year. Prior to the match-up with Loyola, Tullis had come off the bench in 16 appearances, notching double figures just twice and grabbing a then season-high six rebounds in a loss to Richmond.

JANISIUS SUSPENDED: Junior center Marius Janisius has been suspended from the Marist College mens basketball team following an altercation on campus. The Vilnius, Lithuania native averaged 7.9 points and 5.5 rebounds in fifteen appearances. He was named the MAAC Player of the Week in December following a seven day span where he averaged18.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists, while shooting an impressive 85.7% (18-for-21) from the floor. Although head coach Dave Magarity has not solidified his starting line-up, Matt Tullis and Dennis Young are candidates for the starting center position.

LOOKING AT THE LEADERS: Junior point guard Sean Kennedy is third among all NCAA Division I players in assists, averaging 8.6 dishes per outing. Kennedy has handed out 147 assists so far this season, 64 percent of what he dished out the two previous seasons (229). He has dished out 10 or more assists on nine occasions.

ANOTHER MAGARITY AT MARIST: Maureen Magarity, former Our Lady of Lourdes H.S. standout, has joined the Marist College women's basketball team after transferring from Boston College, where she played for the Eagles for the last season and a half. Magarity, daughter of Marist men's basketball head coach Dave Magarity, started her collegiate playing career at Boston College where she was a member of the 2000 NCAA team.

MOVING ON UP: Junior point guard Sean Kennedy has moved into the fourth position on Marists All-Time Career Assists list. Kennedy has accumulated 376 assists in his career thus far, surpassing former teammate Bobby Joe Hatton (1995-99), for the fourth slot. He needs 79 more dishes to move past Dexter Dunbar (1990-95) for third place. Marist's All-Time leader, Drafton Davis (1984-88), finished his career with 804 dishes. Kennedy also sits in eighth position on Marist's all-time career steals list. With 130 take aways in his career, Kennedy surpassed Bobby Joe Hatton in another category for the eighth slot. He needs four more steals to move pass Steve Paterno (1987-91) for the seventh position. Drew Samuels is in eighth place on Marist's all-time career rebounding list with 478 boards and needs 81 more rebounds to surpass Mark Shamley (1983-87) for the seventh position.

SEEING THE TOURNEY TEAMS: Marist has played against two teams that had participated in the 2000 NCAA Tournament. Marist defeated the Lafayette Lafayette in overtime (82-80), who captured the Patriot League Title, losing in the first round of the East Regional, 47-73, to the second seeded Temple Owls at the Marine Midland Arena, hosted by the MAAC, Canisius, and Niagara in Buffalo, New York. The other 2000 NCAA team the Red Foxes have faced are the Iona Gaels, the MAAC defending Champions. The 14th seeded Gaels dropped a 59-74 decision to the third seeded Terrapins of Maryland in the Mid-West Regional at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Marist dropped the first meeting, 69-81, but will have a chance to tie the season-series when the Gaels come to Marist on January 31st.

HOME SWEET HOME: Marist holds a 10-1 record on its home court at the James J. McCann Center. The lone setback this season was to East Carolina (73-81) on November 18th in the championship game of the Pepsi Marist MAAC Conference Challenge. With the home court advantage, the Red Foxes have been outscoring their opponent by nearly seven points, averaging 71.1 points per game. On the road, Marist has been averaging 70.0 points per game, with its opponents outscoring the Red Foxes by 2.3 points per game.

FOUR-PLAY: Junior Sean Kennedy and sophomore Sherman Whittenburg each converted four-point plays in Marists last outing against Iona. Kennedy has been averaging 34.7 percent from downtown, while connecting on just 66.7 percent of his free throws. Whittenburg, who is shooting 29 percent from three-point range, is hitting on 70 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe.

COUNTING THE POINTS: Marists 18-point loss to the Fairfield Stags (67-85) at the Pepsi Arena on Monday marked the largest margin of defeat for the Red Foxes this season. The last loss by this margin or more was also at the Pepsi Arena in the Red Foxes 65-83 setback to Niagara during the second round of the 2000 MAAC Tournament.

STREAKING: Marist recently had its five-game winning streak, the longest since the Red Foxes opened the 1998-99 season winning the first eight games of the year, snapped. The Stags of Fairfield stopped Marist's five-game run with a 67-85 loss at the Pepsi Arena on Martin Luther King Day. The longest winning streak in Marist College history occurred during the 1986-87 NCAA season, where a Rik Smits led Red Fox squad closed the season with 14 consecutive wins before bowing out to Pittsburgh (68-93) in the first round of the West Regional in Tuscon, Arizona.

LUCKY AT THE LINE AT HOME: Sophomore Nick Eppehimer may be 17-of-20 from the line, but at the McCann Center, the Pottstown, PA native is a perfect 16-of-16 from the charity stripe. His perfect free throw skills at home came in handy as Eppehimer's two free throws helped seal a 59-56 win over Niagara in the closing seconds.

HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?: Although Marist tallied 59 points in its victory over Niagara on Saturday night, it was the lowest scoring output since a 56-51 win over Canisius on January 17th of last year. The lowest point total, while securing a victory came in the 1984-85 season with a 55-50 victory over Delaware State.

TWICE DENIED: The Red Foxes their opponents leading scorer below their average in their last two MAAC victories. Marist held Loyolas John Reimold to just single digit scoring. Reimold entered the McCann Center averaging 17.2 point per game, but was held to just nine point by the Red Fox defense. Marist also held the MAAC's leading scorer to 17 points, nearly three points below his average. Niagara's Demond Stewart entered McCann netting an average of 20.4 points per game. Although Stewart racked up 12 points in the first half of play, the Red Fox defense kept him in check by allowing him to score just five points in the second half.

REMAINING NEUTRAL: Although Marist was the visiting team in January 15ths match-up with the Stags, the Red Foxes played for the first time this season on a neutral court. Neither the Red Foxes or Stags will hold a home court advantage, as their next meeting will take place at Madison Square Garden on February 4th, where Marist will wear the home white.

MARIST IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY: January 3rds game against Lafayette marked the tenth and final time that Marist faced a non-conference opponent this season. Marist finished with a 5-5 mark against non-conference opponents. The Red Foxes have picked up wins over Ivy League member Dartmouth (68-54), Army (81-64) and Lafayette (82-80) from the Patriot League, and Mid-American opponents Western Michigan (78-71) and Bowling Green (86-69), while dropping games to Colonial members Richmond (67-74) and East Carolina (73-81), BIG EAST foes Pittsburgh (69-71 OT) and Boston College (65-74), and UCF (67-78) of the Trans-America conference.

DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN: The Red Foxes haven't won a game 81-64 just once, or even twice for that matter. Marist has picked up three 81-64 victories this season, with the latest one against St. Peters in Jersey City Tuesday night. It marked the third time in four games the Red Foxes have posted an 81-64 score.

SIGNIFICANT DIGITS: Dave Magarity and his team have set a goal to keep opponent under 65 points. So far they have kept that goal pretty close holding eight of their 20 opponents under that mark, including all eight of the ten MAAC teams the Red Foxes have faced so far.

POINT TOTALING: Senior Blake Sonne has equaled his output in points from last season. Sonne, one of this year's co-captain's, has scored 137 points, nine points over the amount he netted last season. He is averaging 7.6 points per game, fourth on the team in scoring through 19 games. Sonne registered his 128 points last season in 20 games.

AND YOUTH SHALL LEAD YOU: Rookie Dennis Young recorded perhaps his finest game of the year in Marist's 81-64 conference win over Loyola on January 6th afternoon. Logging more points than minutes, the Warrenton, GA native netted six points in four minutes of play to tie his career high. Young also tallied six points in the Red Foxes 81-64 win over Army. He shot 75 percent from the field (3-of-4) and also recorded a block.

JANUARY BLUES: The month of January has not always been particularly nice to the Red Foxes. In the past three years, Marist has gone 7-15 in the first month of the New Year. However, the Red Foxes are currently 7-2 in the new year, the best start in the month of January since the 1995-96 season when Marist opened January with nine straight wins.

DOH . . . : Blake Sonne missed his first free throw of the season against Lafayette. Prior to last January 3rds match-up, Sonne was tied among three other players in the NCAA with a perfect free throw percentage (16-of-16). The senior co-captain missed his 17th attempt from the line this season, but sank the second free throw of his two shot award.

SETTING A NEW STANDARD: Senior Drew Samuels logged a new career-high in points and rebounds with a 33-point, 19-rebound performance against the Leopards on January 3rd. Samuels erased his previous high of 32 points, set against in his sophomore campaign versus Niagara, and 18 rebounds, collected against Western Michigan last season. His performance also marked his seventh double-double this season. The 6-5, 210 forward continues to lead the Red Foxes with 18.9 ppg and 9.9 rpg.

SCHOLAR ATHLETES: Seniors Blake Sonne and Sean Stellato and junior Matt Tullis each achieved over a 3.0 for the fall semester. Sonne, a business administration-marketing major, and Stellato, a communications-public relations major, were each Academic All-MAAC selections last season. Tullis, majoring in psychology, finished his first semester at the school on the Hudson.

IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME: Junior guard Rick Smith has been called upon for his clutch free throw shooting, but against Lafayette the Red Foxes got a clutch shot from the Bladensburg, MD native. With Wednesday nights game notched at 80 a piece, junior guard Sean Kennedy missed his shot with :07 seconds on the clock, but Smith leaped to the basket for the tip-in, giving Marist the 82-80 overtime win over Lafayette.

DOWN TO THE LAST SHOT: Marist has played in two overtime periods so far this season, with each game decided during the final seconds of play. The first overtime game was against BIG EAST member Pittsburgh during the Thanksgiving holiday. Marist inbounded the ball with just :03 seconds on the clock, but a lose ball and a wide-open Ricardo Greer gave the Panthers the 71-69 win. Junior guard Rick Smith tip-in a Red Fox miss with :07 remaining on the clock to give Marist a 80-82 win over Lafayette.

KEEP SCORING: Senior Drew Samuels is nearing 20 points per game, currently averaging 19.0 points per night. Should Samuels finish the year scoring over 20 points per game, he will be the first Red Fox to do so since Izett Buchanan during the 1993-94 season.

HE'S BACK . . . : Junior Sean Kennedy likes to show you cannot keep a good man down, returning from each injury with avengance. Kennedy missed December 13ths game against Army with an ankle injury suffered during the Red Foxes match-up at UCF. However, the Northport, NY native returned to the floor just days later for his sixth game with 10 or more assists, with 12 dishes on the night. In early December, Kennedy returned to the court after sitting with a back injury for nine days to record his first double-double of the year (11-points, 10-assists) in Marist's 86-69 win over Bowling Green on December 16th.

THE CUP STOPS HERE: Marist retained the Pepsi Hudson Valley Challenge Cup with a 81-64 win over Army. The cup is awarded to the winner of the Hudson Valley rivalry each season. Marist has won the cup for the last three straight seasons.

WINNING WAYS: In the Red Foxes 13 victories so far this season, Marist has outscored its opponent by an average of 9.6 points. The Red Foxes have recorded four 17-point victories, the largest margin of victory this season, with wins over Bowling Green (86-69) back on December 16th and 81-64 wins over Army on December 31, Loyola (81-64) on January 6th, and St. Peters on January 9th. The wins were the largest Red Fox victory since since a 20-point win over Loyola (MD) last year, 80-60, on January 28th, 2000.

RED FOXES RANKED: Marist recieved votes in the latest Inside College Top 25 Mid-Major Poll released on Monday. The Mid-Major Poll is made up of ten from the following conferences: America East, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Ivy, MAAC, Mid-American, Mid-Continent, Mid-Eastern, Midwestern Collegiate, Missouri Valley, NEC, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Sun Belt, Trans America, and West Coast. Richmond and Iona, who the Red Foxes have each dropped games to, where ranked in the Top 25 while future opponents, Rider and Canisius, received votes .

STARTING THE NEW YEAR: The Red Foxes hold a 6-11 record in their first game after New Years. Marist opened up 2001 with an overtime win over defending Patriot League champion, Lafayette.

ENDING THE YEAR: The Red Foxes are 4-14 on their last game played prior to New Years Day. Marist closed 2000 with a 81-64 win over Hudson Valley Rival, Army on December 31st. Last season, the Red Foxes were defeated by Richmond in their final game of the 20th century, 63-76. The Spiders also managed to defeat Marist again this year, 67-74. However, in the their final game at the McCann Center prior to the New Year, the Red Foxes are 10-8.

JUMPING JANISIUS: Junior center Marius Janisius was named the Chase/MAAC Player of the Week for the week ending December 17th, it was announced by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Janisius wins the accolade after averaging 18.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in the Red Foxes 1-1 week. Additionally, the junior college transfer from Mid Plains (NE), shot an impressive 85.7% (18-for-21) from the floor in the two games. He opened the week with a team-high 18-point, four rebound performance in Marist's 67-74 loss to the Richmond Spiders and followed up with a career and team-high 19-point, 17-rebound effort in an 86-69 victory over Bowling Green. Against the Falcons, a 2000 NIT squad, Janisius was a perfect 9-for-9 from the floor.

D-D-D-DEFENSE: Marist held the ninth ranked scoring offense in the country nearly 20 points below its average. Bowling Green entered the McCann Center on December 16th, averaging 88.0 points per game. The Red Foxes held the Falcons to just 69 points, while netting a season-high 86 points.

DECEMBER DARLINGS: The Red Foxes finished with a 5-2 mark in the month of December. The last time Marist performed this well during the winter month was dur ing the 1998-99 season when the Red Foxes closed December with a 6-1 mark including victories over Harvard (72-55), Siena (93-87), Manhattan (60-58), American (80-57), Cornell (59-52), and Army (74-71). The lone loss was to PAC-10 opponent, Arizona State, 77-85.

LET IT SNOW: Marist's game against Army was originally scheduled for December 30th, but a healthy dose of snow all along the East Coast delayed the game until the next day. The break did not phase the Foxes as they handed Army an 81-64 loss to close the year 2000.

DREW DOUBLING: Senior co-captain Drew Samuels has already captured nine double-doubles through the first 15 games of the season, surpassing the number of double digit point and rebound performance he accumulated in his first three years of play. Samuels tallied new career-highs will a 29-point,19-rebound performance against Lafayette on Wednesday night. He recorded a 29-point, 12-board performance against Army on December 31st to register his first double-double in three games, nearly 21 days in between double-double games. Samuels captured two double-double games in his sophomore campaign (Niagara - 32 pts., 15 reb., St. Peters - 12 pts., 10 reb.) and just one last season with a 15 point, 10 rebound achievement against Manhattan.

DREW SAMUELS POW: Senior co-captain Drew Samuels was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference player of the week for his efforts in helping to lead the Red Foxes to a 64-60 victory at Manhattan and a 62-58 victory over Siena. The 6-5 power forward averaged 17.5 points and 10.0 rebounds in 31 minutes per game. Samuels nearly shot 50% from the floor, while hitting 13 of 18 free throw attempts. In Marist's win over Manhattan College, Samuels a totaled team-high 19 points while grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds. With 1:22 remaining in the game, Samuels tipped in the go-ahead basket to seal the victory for the Red Foxes. In the Red Foxes' decisive victory over archrival Siena, Samuels once again led the way. He scored a game-high 16 points, and collected 10 rebounds in 34 minutes of play, and hit a pair of key free throws with under a minute to go to help secure the win.

WITH WHITTENBURG: With the absence of Sean Kennedy, sophomore Sherman Whittenburg stepped up for the Red Foxes recording perhaps his finest game this season. Whittenburg notched a season-high eight points on in 26 minutes of action against Siena. He also played outstanding defense, causing Siena's Dwayne Archbold to commit an offensive foul during the final seconds. Whittenburgs two free throws put the nail in the coffin for the Saints, giving Marist a four point edge.

COOL AS A CUCUMBER: Junior Rick Smith has been clutch at the free throw line all year for the Red Foxes. Smith did it again as he nailed two free throws to give Marist a three-point edge over Niagara, 59-56, in the final seconds. At the end of the Manhattan game on December 7th, Smith sunk seven of his eight free throws during the final 4:25. With the Red Foxes up by one point with 13 seconds remain ing, Smith hit two from the charity stripe to give the Red Foxes a three point advantage. Then with a second remaining until the buzzer sounded, Smith hit another free throw to seal the victory for Marist. Three days later against Siena, Smith hit both his free throws as the Red Foxes went a perfect 6-of-6 from the line in the closing minutes.

SOPHOMORE SENSATION: Sophomore Nick Eppehimer recorded perhaps his best performance to date against the Jaspers on December 7th. One of two Red Foxes in double figure scoring, Eppehimer tallied a career-high 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor. He also drained two his of five three point attempts. Last season, Eppehimer appeared in just 18 games, scoring 28 points, averaging just 1.6 minutes of court time.

SONNE STEPPING UP: Senior co-captain Blake Sonne has begun to light up from downtown. Sonne recorded his best performance this season from three point range connecting on 3-of-4 from downtown on December 12th, causing ooohhs and ahhhs from the Richmond fans as several of his attempts came from NBA range. He also connected on 4-of-8 from three point range in the win against Bowling Green on December 16th to register 12 points. Sonne also tallied 12 points from long range against Western Michigan in early December on 3-of-5 shooting. He has shot above .500 from long range ten times during his career including two perfect performances against Manhattan (2-for-2) and Rider (4-for-4) last year.

MAAC OPENERS IN MCCANN: The Red Foxes are undefeated in their first MAAC game played on the Poughkeepsie campus. Marist has now defeated Siena twice in the conference opener in McCann, handing the Saints a 62-58 loss on Sunday and a 93-87 conference opening loss back in 1998. Marist captured a 91-75 victory over Niagara in its first-ever MAAC game in 1997. Thursdays game marked the first time that the Red Foxes had not played their MAAC season opener in the McCann Center.

200 FOR COACH: Head coach Dave Magarity captured his 200th win at the school on the Hudson with Saturdays 78-71 win over Western Michigan. Magarity, who enters his 15th year at the helm of the Red Fox program, has compiled a 211-206 record at Marist, taking his teams to two NCAA Tournaments and an NIT appearance. Magarity currently holds a 271 -282 career mark, which includes coaching stints at his alma mater, St. Francis (PA), as well as Marist.

IRON MEN: Three Red Foxes have been averaging over 30 minutes per game. Junior guard Sean Kennedy logs just about 37.9 minutes per game, while classmate, guard Rick Smith, steps onto the court for nearly 34.6. minutes of action. Teammate, forward Drew Samuels, has been averaging 31.6 minutes per night.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN...: Marist picked up its first road win of the season with a 64-60 win against MAAC rival Manhattan on Thursday night. The Red Foxes are currently 3-5 on the road, as they picked-up losses against Pittsburgh (69-71) and Boston College (65-74) to open their road schedule during the Thanksgiving weekend and UCF (67-78) over Christmas break.. Last season, the Red Foxes finished with a 5-9 mark away from the friendly confines of the McCann Center.

Forging Ahead: Despite sitting out most of the first half of the Pittsburgh game in foul trouble, junior Sean Kennedy finished the game as the team's second leading scorer with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor. He connected on 4-of-6 three point attempts and also recorded a game-high seven assists, while committing just two turnovers.

All-Tourney Review: Two Red Fox Players were named to the Pepsi/Marist Challenge All-Tournament Team for their performances. Drew Samuels, who averaged 16 points and nine rebounds, and Sean Kennedy, who averaged 12 assists with only three turnovers in two games, earned spots on the team along with East Carolina standouts Brandon Hawkins and tournament MVP Mikulas. Greg Buth of Dartmouth and Jason Jennings of Arkansas State rounded out the all-star squad.

Opening Showing: With the Red Foxes' win over Dartmouth (68-54), Marist improved to 10-10 in season openers since elevating to Division I status during the 1981-82 season. Dave Magarity led squads are 8-7 in opening games.

Ellerbee Commits: Brandon Ellerbee, a 5-11 point guard from Plano, TX has signed a National Letter of Intent to play with the Marist College men's basketball team beginning in the 2001-2002 season. Ellerbee is the first player to sign in the early period from Plano East High School since Michigan Fab Five member and current Minnesota Timberwolf, Jimmy King. Last season as a junior, he was a First Team All-Tournament selection at the Waco, Texas Top 100 Players Tournament, an All-District Team member, and helped his Plano East team to the Sweet 16 of the State Tournament. Ellerbee broke Plano East's single game assist record by dishing out 13 assists during one outing last season, while averaging 15 points and eight assists during his junior campaign.

POLLING THE PRESEASON: Marist was predicted to finish in 8th place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Preseason Poll, as determined by the leagues head coaches. Here is where everyone ranks:

1. Iona (6) 93
2. Niagara (4) 91
3. Manhattan 72
4. Rider 63
5. Canisius 58
6. Fairfield 56
7. Siena 50
8. Marist 32
9. St. Peters 17
Loyola 17

KENNEDY HONORED BY THE MAAC: Junior Sean Kennedy was tabbed, by the leagues coaches, as Preseason All-MAAC selection, it was announced at the conferences annual media day held at Madison Square Garden. Regarded as one of the top ball-handlers in the league, the Northport, NY product averaged 9.7 points per game while leading the MAAC with 5.8 assists per night. Joining Kennedy on the leagues second team are Dyree Wilson (Iona), Nakeia Miller (Iona), Scott Knapp (Siena), and Bruce Seals (Manhattan).

ITS A BOY: Senior co-captain Blake Sonne and his wife, T.J., welcomed Austin Blake into the world in mid- September.

TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADERS: Senior Drew Samuels and Blake Sonne were voted by their peers to serve as captains of the 2000-2001 Red Fox mens basketball team. Samuels will look to captain his second straight squad, after serving in the same capacity last season. Sonne is no stranger to leadership roles, serving as the MAACs representative on the NABC Student-Athlete Congress.

EAST CAROLINA TIES: Although the Red Foxes match-up with East Carolina marked the first time the two schools faced each other on the hardwood, the two school are no strangers to each other on the diamond. The Red Foxes played the Pirates twice in the 2000 NCAA Baseball Regional in Lafayette, Louisiana. The Pirates defeated the Red Foxes 11-5 in the first game and narrowly escaped with a 8-7 extra inning victory to eliminate Marist.