Nov. 21, 2007
Final Stats
HAMILTON, N.Y. - Senior center Spongy Benjamin (St. Francis Village Erin, Trinidad) collected an offensive rebound and hit a putback with 7.2 seconds to go, giving the Marist men's basketball team a 61-60 victory at Colgate on Wednesday at Cotterell Court. With the victory, the Red Foxes improved to 2-3 on the season.
Red-shirt senior forward Ryan Stilphen (Bay Village, Ohio) led Marist in scoring and rebounding with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Stilphen's double-double was the second by a Red Fox this season, and both his scoring and rebounding totals were season highs.
The game was tied at 31 apiece at halftime, but the Red Foxes scored the first nine points of the second half. Red-shirt sophomore point guard David Devezin (Houston, Texas) opened the scoring with a three-pointer nine seconds in, and then had a steal that led to a lay-up on the ensuing possession.
Marist led by as much as 11 in the second half, and the Red Foxes were up 58-48 after a basket by senior forward Shae McNamara (Milwaukee, Wis.) with 7:45 to play. However, Colgate went on a 12-0 run, as the Red Foxes went scoreless over the next 6:54. With the Raiders leading 60-58 with 51 seconds to play, Stilphen split a pair of free throws to cut Colgate's lead to one. After Marist got a stop on Colgate's next possession, the Red Foxes got the ball back with 18 seconds to play. Devezin missed a lay-up, but Benjamin's basket put Marist up one. Colgate's Daniel Waddy missed a three-pointer at the buzzer, enabling the Red Foxes to earn the victory.
Devezin finished with 12 points and a team-high five assists, shooting 5-for-10 from the field and hitting a pair of three-pointers. As a team, Marist shot .489 (22-for-45) from the field and .636 (7-for-11) from three-point range, as six different Red Foxes connected from deep.
Kyle Roemer led Colgate with 15 points, four rebounds and four steals. Roemer entered the game averaging 20.5 points per contest, but was held to 4-for-13 shooting. Marist held Colgate to 9-for-26 shooting (.346) in the second half.
The game featured 10 lead changes and 11 ties.
Marist returns home to the McCann Center on Saturday at 7:30 p.m., when the Red Foxes host Richmond of the Atlantic 10. Marist earned an 80-73 overtime win at Richmond last season. Tickets can be purchased by online at GoRedFoxes.com, and the Marist ticket window will open at 6 p.m. Saturday
