Feb. 19, 2007
Final Stats
Feb. 19, 2007
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.-Marist senior center James Smith (Nyack, N.Y.) tied a career-high with five 3-pointers on his way to 19 points in leading the Red Foxes to a 67-60 victory at Fairfield Monday evening at the Arena at Harbor Yard. With the win, Marist (22-7 overall, 13-4 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) clinched a share of the MAAC regular season title and tied the men's school record for wins in a season that was set originally in the 1995-96 season. Fairfield dropped to 12-18 overall and 9-8 in the league.
The Red Foxes also tied their program record for MAAC wins with 13, set during the 2001-02 season.
Redshirt junior Ryan Stilphen (Bay Village, Ohio) led Marist, winners of seven consecutive games, with 13 rebounds in addition to 14 points. Senior guard Will Whittington (Kingwood, Tx.) had 16 points with four 3-pointers.
Senior guard Jared Jordan (Hartford, Conn.) had 10 points, seven rebounds and 12 assists. Jordan, a Bob Cousy Award finalist, is bidding to become the first player in Division I history since Southern University's Avery Johnson to lead the nation in assists twice. Johnson averaged 10.74 during the 1986-87 season and 13.3 the following season.
The Red Foxes held the advantage in team boards (47-33).
Jonathan Han and Mike Van Schaick led the Stags, who made just five turnovers, with 16 points apiece. Mamadou Diakhate also chipped in 12 points, while Marty O'Sullivan had nine rebounds to lead the way. O'Sullivan, Han and Van Schaick all had four assists, while Han had three steals.
Fairfield was plagued terribly in the second half with subpar shooting from 3-point range, making just two of 17 attempts (11.8 percent).
The Stags played well in the first half, taking its largest lead of six (30-24) with 1:53 to go on a 3-pointer by Diakhate from the corner.
Fairfield tied the score again at 45 with 10:40 to go in the game on a 3-pointer by Van Schaick, but Marist responded with a decisive 14-3 run over the next 5:41 to take its largest lead (59-48) of the game on a Whittington 3-pointer with 4:59 to play.
Marist shot 42.9 percent (21-49) from the floor, while Fairfield made 34.9 percent (22-63). The Red Foxes also connected on 11 3-pointers in 28 attempts (39.3 percent), while Fairfield made just 18.8 percent (6-32). Neither team shot well from the line, with the Red Foxes making 60.9 percent (14-23) and Fairfield connecting on 66.7 percent (10-15).
Marist will be back in action Saturday against Siena (17-10, 11-5 MAAC) at 11 a.m. at the McCann Center in the highly-anticipated matchup between the two teams. The game, which is a sellout, will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2. All fans are encouraged to wear white to the game to "White Out" the McCann Center for the contest.
