Dec. 29, 2006
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POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.-Marist seniors Jared Jordan (Hartford, Conn.) and Will Whittington (Kingwood, Tx.) combined for 33 points Friday to lift Marist to a 67-63 victory in the second game of the Pepsi Marist Classic. The Red Foxes will face Central Arkansas Saturday in the championship game (7:30 p.m.), while Northern Illinois will square off with Bucknell in the consolation game (5 p.m.). Central Arkansas knocked off Bucknell 50-48 in earlier action Friday.
Jordan accounted for 18 points and four assists in his first game back after suffering a high left ankle sprain in the 89-70 win at Saint Peter's on Dec. 10. The 6'2 guard entered the game the nation's leader in assists at 8.5 per game. Whittington connected for 15 points to go along with three steals. Senior center James Smith (Nyack, N.Y.) powered Marist on the glass with 10 boards to give the Red Foxes a 41-38 edge on the glass.
Ryan Paradise had a game-high 23 points and three steals to lead Northern Illinois, who has lost eight straight after winning their first three contests. Mike McKinney also chipped in 19 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Shawn Logan also led the Huskies with five steals.
The Red Foxes dominated the lane in the contest with 32 points in the paint compared to just 18 for NIU.
Northern Illinios jumped out to a quick 12-4 lead on a jumper by Ben Rand at the 16:04 mark before Marist responded with a 15-5 run over the next 8:42 to take its first lead (19-17) of the game on a 3-pointer by Whittington. Paradise hit a layup with 40 seconds to go in the half to give the Huskies a 32-31 lead at the break.
The action seesawed in the early part of the second half and McKinney leveled matters (36-36) for the last time at the 18:38 mark on a layup. After that, the Red Foxes went up by as much as eight (60-52) at the 4:08 mark on a layup by Jordan.
Marist shot 41.1 percent from the field (24-58), while NIU tossed in 43.1 percent (25-58). The Red Foxes hit on seven of their 23 attempts from 3-point range (30.4 percent), while NIU connected on eight of 23 attempts (34.8 percent). Marist continued to struggle at the line, making just 12 of 19 attempts (63.2 percent), while the Huskies shot even worse (5-15, 33.3 percent).
