Nov. 26, 2006
Final Stats
ORLANDO, Fla.-Marist senior guard Jared Jordan (Hartford, Conn.) finished with a game-high 30 points and nine assists to lead the Red Foxes' men's basketball squad to an 89-78 victory over Western Michigan in the third place game of the Old Spice Classic at the Milk House in Orlando, Florida. The game was televised on ESPN2. Marist improved to 4-2 overall, while the Broncos dropped to 2-4 overall. Jordan was also named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after averaging 20.7 points, 9.0 assists and 6.3 rebounds over the course of three games.
The Red Foxes have now defeated Western Michigan in two of three meetings.
Jordan, who went 10-10 from the free throw line, led the nation last season with 8.5 assists per game.
Senior guard Will Whittington (Kingwood, Tx.) finished with 16 points, while senior center James Smith (Nyack, N.Y.) and junior Wilfred Benjamin (St. Francis Village Erin, Trinidad) finished with a team-high five rebounds.
Western Michigan had four players in double figures, led by Joe Reitz's 18 points. Michael Redell (16), Andrew Ricks (16) and Shawntes Gary (11) also finished in double-digits. Andrew Hershberger finished with a team-high seven rebounds, while Redell had a team-high six assists. Ricks also led with three steals.
After jumping out to an early 5-0 lead, the Red Foxes found themselves down 22-20 with 6:01 left in the first half on a tip-in by Donald Lawson. However, Marist ran off an 11-1 run over the next three minutes, four seconds to take a 31-23 advantage on a free throw by Jordan. The 6'2 guard scored Marist's last 10 points of the half to send the Red Foxes into the locker room with a 35-28 halftime advantage.
Jordan led all scorers with 13 points at the half to go with four assists. Benjamin led the Red Foxes with four first half boards.
The Broncos were led by six points apiece from Reitz and Gary at the break. Derek Drews also posted four first half rebounds.
Marist shot 48 percent (12-25) from the field in the first stanza, while Western Michigan went 12-29 for 41.4 percent. The Red Foxes also connected on 57.1 percent of their 3-pointers (4-7), while the Broncos hit on 33.3 percent (2-6).
The Red Foxes came out strong again in the beginning of the second half, ripping off an 18-4 run over the first four minutes, 54 seconds to go up by their largest margin of 21 points (53-32) on a layup by Jordan with 15:06 to play. Marist would lead by 21 three more times, the last time on a free throw by sophomore Gerald Carter (Harlem, N.Y.) with 6:44 to play.
Western Michigan did rally down the stretch, pulling to within eight (81-73) with 1:52 to play on a jumper by Andrew Ricks.
The Red Foxes finished 30-52 from the field for 57.7 percent, while Western Michigan was 46.9 percent (30-64) from the field. The Red Foxes connected on 10 of 19 3-point attempts (52.6 percent), while the Broncos went 8-18 for 44.4 percent. Perhaps the most encouraging stat came at the free throw line where Marist connected on 76 percent (19-25) after struggling in the early going this season. Western Michigan hit on just 58.8 percent (10-17).
Marist will now turn its attention to a 7:30 p.m. home date with Old Dominion. The Monarchs defeated Marist 84-71 last season in Norfolk, Va.
