Dec. 28, 2009
Box Score
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- The Marist men's basketball team suffered a 72-62 loss to Vermont of the America East Conference on Monday night at the McCann Center. Freshman guard Candon Rusin (Topsail, N.C.) scored a career-high 16 points for the Red Foxes, who held a 37-31 lead at halftime.
Vermont's Marqus Blakely had game highs of 23 points and 11 rebounds. The Catamounts outrebounded Marist 48-24, and hauled in 25 offensive rebounds.
After spotting Vermont an early seven-point lead, Marist took the lead on a three-pointer by freshman guard Devin Price (Inglewood, Calif.), which gave the Red Foxes a 23-20 advantage with 7:15 left in the first half. Price's shot capped a 12-2 run.
A pair of free throws by junior forward Korey Bauer (Whitehall, Pa.) gave the Red Foxes their largest lead of the game at eight, as they led 37-29 with 1:17 left in the first half. A pair of free throws by Vermont's Maurice Joseph made the score 37-31 at the intermission.
With 17:16 to go, a three-pointer by Rusin gave the Red Foxes a 42-35 lead. However, Vermont answered by going on a 17-2 run over the next 10:14. A layup by Blakely at the 12:40 mark gave the Catamounts the led for the remainder of the contest. Marist fought back to cut Vermont's lead to four on two occasions, but would draw no closer.
A four-point play by red-shirt junior guard Daye Kaba (Cergy, France)with 2:39 remaining cut Vermont's lead to 61-56, and Kaba split a pair of free throws on Marist's next possession to make the score 61-57. However, Vermont outscored Marist 11-5 over the final two-and-a-half minutes.
In addition to his 23 points and 11 rebounds, Blakely added four steals, two blocked shots and two assists. Joseph scored 10 and had three steals, while Garrett Kissel and Garvey Young had nine rebounds apiece.
Kaba gave the Red Foxes two scorers in double digits with 11. Price had nine points and three assists against just one turnover. Bauer had six points, going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line, to go along with a team-high five rebounds.
Vermont improved to 8-5; Marist is now 0-10.
The Red Foxes return to action on Wednesday, when they head back to the road to take on Patriot League foe Bucknell. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
