Jan. 15, 2006
Final Stats
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J.-Senior Carl Hood (Houston, Tx.) had a season-high 22 points, while junior Jared Jordan (Hartford, Conn.) had a career-high 16 assists to lead the Marist men's basketball squad to an 89-66 victory over Rider Sunday afternoon at Alumni Gym. The Red Foxes improved to 8-6 overall and 2-4 in the MAAC, while Rider dropped to 4-10 overall and 0-6 in the league. Marist has won three in a row and six of its last eight overall.
Marist's win also snapped Rider's five-game winning streak in the series between the two schools.
Jordan's assist total was one off Sean Kennedy's school record of 17 in an 89-61 victory over St. Peter's on Feb. 21, 2002. That game also produced the last time the Red Foxes had a larger margin of victory.
Both teams traded baskets throughout the first half until Rider's Harris Mansell tied the affair with 7:48 to go on a 3-pointer. However, Marist responded with a 21-6 run to close the half and went into the break with a commanding 45-30 advantage.
Hood led all scorers with 14 points in the first stanza while junior Will Whittington (Kingwood, Tx.) tallied 11. Jordan, who entered the game fourth in the nation in assists at 6.7 per game, posted 10 first half assists and three steals. Terrance Mouton led Rider with seven points, while Paul Johnson had four rebounds.
Both teams also shot blistering percentages in the game's first 20 minutes. Marist finished the half at 58.1 percent (18-for-31), while the Broncs went 12-for-19 for 63.2 percent. However, the difference in the half was Rider's 14 turnovers which Marist converted into 18 points.
After the break, the Red Foxes kept control of the game with the smallest lead being 12 (47-35) on a jumper by Edwin Muniz at the 18:55 mark. The largest lead grew to 25 twice (85-60), the last time coming at the 3:11 mark on a pair of free throws by freshman Gerald Carter (Harlem, N.Y.).
Whittington finished the game with 19 points on 7-for-13 shooting and 5-for-10 from 3-point range. Junior James Smith (Nyack, N.Y.) also posted 15 points with a team-high seven rebounds.
Muniz led Rider with 18 points, while Jason Thompson led the Broncs with eight boards. Paul Johnson also posted four assists for the Broncs, who have lost six straight.
The Red Foxes shot 56.9 percent (33-for-58) from the floor, while Rider went 23-for-50 for 46 percent. Marist went 10-for-24 for 41.7 percent from 3-point range, while the Broncs went 6-for-19 (31.6 percent). The Red Foxes hit 61.9 percent (13-for-21) from the line, while Rider connected on 82.4 percent (14-for-17).
Marist, who is 8-1 this season when they lead with five minutes to go in the game, has led at the half of its last five games.
The Red Foxes will face Manhattan on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the McCann Center. Manhattan, who dropped a 71-62 decision to Marist in Poughkeepsie last season, is 10-4 this season with a perfect 6-0 MAAC mark on the strength of nine straight wins.
