Nov. 16, 2001

Poughkeepsie, NY - The Marist College Men's basketball team defeated Drexel 75-67 in the Pepsi Marist Classic this evening at the McCann Center in Poughkeepsie, NY. The Red Foxes led the rest of the game after taking a 6-4 lead in the first two minutes of the contest. After starting the second half down 42-31, Drexel cut the margin to five at 66-61 with just under three minutes remaining. Senior Rick Smith (Bladensburg, MD) hit two free throws at 2:36 to put the Red Foxes ahead by seven as the Red Foxes pulled ahead for the victory.

Smith hit all six of his three pointers on his way to 21 points to lead the Red Foxes. Nick Eppehimer (Pottstown, PA) had a double double, scoring 12 points and pulling down a game high 12 rebounds. Marist also received double-digit efforts from seniors Sean Kennedy (Northport, NY) with 14 points and Matt Tullis (Orem, UT) with 11 points.

The Drexel offense was paced by Jamil Moore, who scored 24 points and Robert Battle, who added 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Marist shot well from behind the arc connecting on 13-23 three-point field goals for 56.5 percent, while Drexel went 3-14 from the outside for 21.4%.

The Red Foxes advance to play Columbia in the championship game of the 2001 Pepsi Marist Classic tomorrow, Saturday, November 17th at 7:30 PM in the McCann Center. Columbia defeated Northeastern 66-54 in the first game of the tournament. Drexel will now face Northeastern in the consolation game at 5:00 PM tomorrow evening.