Feb. 28, 2003

Box Score

Buffalo, NY--Senior Nick Eppehimer surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his collegiate career as he tallied 18 points in leading Marist back from a seven-point halftime deficit, to defeat Canisius 73-68, this evening at the Koessler Athletic Center. The win is the first for the Red Foxes at Koessler, on the campus of Canisius. Marist improves to 12-14 overall and 8-9 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play, while the Griffs fall to 9-17 overall and 5-12.

Eppehimer drained a three-pointer with 13:02 left in the game to put him into the select group of 1,000-point scores. He finished the game with 1,008 career points, passing former teammate Sean Kennedy, and moving into a 19th place tie with Bill Spenla (1968-71).

The Red Foxes trailed 41-34 at the intermission, before opening the second half with a 7-0 run, tying the game at 41-41 with 17:44 to go. Canisius maintained the lead for the next 5:00, vefore an Eppehimer lay-up with 10:55 to go, tied the game at 55-55. Marist took is first lead on a Chris Handy free throw, 42 second later, and did not relinquish the lead the remainder of the way.

Marist took a 67-60 lead with 6:33 left in the game, before a scoring drought allowed the Griffs to close to within one-point, 67-66, with 2:44 left in the game. Marist allowed just two points the remainder of the way, and used four Handy free throws and two from Eppehimer in the final 25 seconds of the game to seal the victory.

Handy had his second career double-double in the game, scoring 15 points and pulling down 11 rebounds, five on the offensive glass. Handy also blocked a career-high tying four shots in the effort. Carl Hood just missed his second career double-double, pulling down 10 boards, four offensive, and scoring nine points. Brandon Ellerbee scored 14 points, to go along with five assists, and Dennis Young had 11 points and eight boards, as well two blocked shots in 19 minutes of action. Eric Siegrist dished out a game and career-high eight assists, while pulling in five boards and scoring four points.

The Red Foxes outrebounded the Griffs 49-42 in the game, including 29-22 in the second half, with a 19-15 advantage on the offensive boards. Marist shots 38.6 percent, 27-70, from the field, while holding the Griffs to 35.3 percent, 24-68, including just 10-34 in the second half. Canisius was 6-12 from downtown in the first half and did not connect at all from behind the line in the second half.

Marist dished out 15 assists and recorded seven blocks and four steals in the game. The Griffs also had 15 assists, to go along with seven steals and three blocks. Jon Ferris scored 19 points and had 13 boards off of the bench, while Brian Dux added 15 points for the Red Foxes.

The Red Foxes will close out the regular season on Sunday, March 2nd at Niagara in a 2:00 pm game. Marist can clinch the number six-seed in next weekend's MAAC Tournament with a win on Sunday, or a Rider loss at Canisius. The MAAC Tournament runs from March 7th through March 10th, with the champion earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.