LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. - Red-shirt senior forward
Ryan Stilphen (Bay Village, Ohio) converted the game-winning three-point play with 3.4 seconds remaining, giving the Marist men's basketball team an 81-80 win at Rider in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game on Friday. Stilphen, who finished the game 4-for-4 from the field and 3-for-3 from the line, scored his 1,000th point in the first half, becoming the 25th player in program history to reach the milestone.
"This is a terrific win for our program on the road against a team that will contend for the MAAC regular-season title," Marist Head Coach Matt Brady said.
With 5.0 seconds left in the game, Stilphen entered the game during a timeout with Marist trailing 80-78. His layup with 3.4 seconds tied the game, and he was fouled on the play. Stilphen with the ensuing free throw to put the Red Foxes up 81-80, and Rider's desperation three-pointer as time expired fell short. With the victory, Marist improved to 8-6 overall and 2-1 in the MAAC.
Freshman guard Jay Gavin (Seat Pleasant, Md.) scored a career-high 21 points and added five rebounds. Gavin shot 7-for-14 from the field, 4-for-8 from three-point range and 3-for-3 from the line. Red-shirt sophomore point guard David Devezin (Houston, Texas) added 14 points, four assists and four rebounds. Red-shirt senior guard Louie McCroskey (Bronx, N.Y.) added 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
This wild back-and-forth affair included 17 lead changes and eight ties. Although the score was tied at 45 apiece at halftime, the Red Foxes did not lead in the second half until Gavin's three-pointer gave Marist a 73-71 edge with 3:22 to play. However, Rider took the lead on the next possession on a three-point play by Jason Thompson, and held it until Stilphen's game-winning three-point play. The Red Foxes trailed by as many as 11 in the second half, as Rider held a 69-58 lead with 10:21 remaining.
Stilphen, who entered the game with 995 career points, scored his 1,000th point on a free throw with 12:53 remaining in the first half. Prior to the intermission, Rider led by six points on three different occasions, by the Red Foxes tied the score at 45-45 when red-shirt junior forward Ryan Schneider (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) hit a long three-pointer while falling to the floor in the closing seconds of the half.
Marist shot .468 from the field, as compared to .484 for Rider. Marist hit eight three-pointers and went 15-for-19 (.789) from the free-throw line, while Rider shot just 12-for-21 from the line. The Broncs hit just two of their 11 free-throw attempts in the second half.
For Rider (8-6, 1-2), Thompson led all players with 26 points and 11 rebounds. His brother, Ryan Thompson, finished with 24 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.
Marist will return to the McCann Center on Monday for a MAAC contest against Manhattan, which is slated to start at 7:30 p.m. The contest will mark Marist's first home game since Dec. 1. Tickets can be purchased by online at GoRedFoxes.com, and by calling the Marist ticket office (845) 575-3553.
