Nov. 17, 2010

Box Score

VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Marist men's basketball team suffered a 79-59 loss to George Washington in the second round of the 2010 Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off on Wednesday at The Pavilion on the campus of Villanova University. Sophomore guard Candon Rusin (Surf City, N.C.) led the Red Foxes with 15 points, while red-shirt freshman swingman Anell Alexis (Hillsborough, N.J.) contributed 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

The Red Foxes never led in the contest, as George Washington scored the game's first four points and jumped out to a 19-7 lead. Marist then used a 12-3 lead, one which was capped by a lay-up from Alexis, to cut its deficit to 22-19 with 9:28 left in the first half. The Colonials answered with an 8-0 run of their own, and then took a 43-28 halftime lead.

George Washington led by as much as 24 in the second half, and Marist never got closer than 16.

The Colonials shot .417 (10-for-24) from three-point range, including .500 in the first half (7-for-14), while the Red Foxes were just .250 from deep (7-for-28). Rusin led the Red Foxes with three three-pointers in seven tries.

George Washington also held a 42-28 edge in rebounds. Marist shot .824 (14-for-17) from the free-throw line, marking the second time the Red Foxes shot at least 80 percent from the line is as many games.

Tony Taylor led George Washington with 23 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

Marist fell to 0-2; George Washington now stands at 1-1.

NIT play resumes for the Red Foxes next week, as they will play third- and fourth-round games this coming Monday and Tuesday. The exact site and opponents will be announced on Thursday.

Marist will return to action on Friday, when the Red Foxes head back to the road to take on Boston University of the America East Conference. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.