Nov. 29, 2006

Final Stats |  Quotes

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.-Marist seniors Jared Jordan (Hartford, Conn.), Will Whittington (Kingwood, Tx.) and James Smith (Nyack, N.Y.) combined for 69 of Marist's 84 points to lead the Red Foxes' men's basketball squad to an 84-71 victory over Old Dominion Wednesday evening at the McCann Center. The score was exactly the same last season in the contest between the two schools, but the Monarchs came out on top that time. Marist improved to 5-2 overall with the win, while the Monarchs dipped to 5-2.

Jordan finished with a game-high 26 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists and three steals, while Whittington hit seven 3-pointers en route to a 24-point night. Smith tallied a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, all of which came on the defensive end.

Jordan led the nation with 8.5 assists per game last season. He was named the Tournament MVP of the Old Spice Classic after averaging 20.7 points, 9.0 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game in leading the Red Foxes to wins over Minnesota and Western Michigan on ESPN2.

Old Dominion was led by 15 points off the bench by Valdas Vasylius, while Brian Henderson scored 14 points. Drew Williamson and Brandon Johnson also had 12 and 11 points, respectively. Jonathan Adams posted a team-high five rebounds, while Johnson had four assists.

Marist took its largest lead (29-19) of the first half on a 3-pointer by Smith with 8:29 to go. The Monarchs' bench outscored Marist 12-0 in the first stanza, but found itself behind the Red Foxes 40-33.

Marist put the game out of reach with a 23-6 run over the first 8:28 of the half to go up 63-39 on a tip-in by junior forward Shae McNamara (Milwaukee, Wisc.). The closest the Monarchs would get the rest of the way was 13 several times, including the final margin.

Marist shot 48.4 percent (30-62) from the field, while Old Dominion made 46.2 percent of its shots (24-52). Marist made 13 3-pointers in its 30 attempts (43.3 percent). The Red Foxes still struggled from the stripe, making just 11 of 18 shots for 61.1 percent, while Old Dominion made 15 of 18 shots (83.3 percent).

Marist has scored first in every game this season.

The Red Foxes will now hit the road for a Saturday showdown at Richmond (3-2).