Dec. 5, 2010
Box Score | Video: Postgame Press Conference
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - In its second Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) contest of the weekend, the Marist men's basketball team defeated Canisius 74-64 at the McCann Center to maintain a tie atop MAAC standings with a 2-0 conference record. Sophomore guard Sam Prescott (Philadelphia, Pa.) paced five Marist scorers in double digits with 13 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.
Prescott added three rebounds and two steals to his stat line. Junior guard R.J. Hall (East Orange, N.J.) also netted 13 points while dishing out three assists and grabbing three rebounds. Sophomore guard Candon Rusin (Surf City, N.C.) scored 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting. Freshman swingman Jay Bowie (Tampa, Fla.) also had 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Freshman swingman Anell Alexis (Hillsborough, N.J.) came off the bench to score 10 points in 15 minutes, aided by a 6-for-6 performance from the free-throw line.
Canisius held the lead twice early on in the game, with scores of 5-2 and 8-5 courtesy of three-pointers by guard Alshwan Hymes and forward Greg Logins, respectively. Once Hall hit a three-pointer at 15:25 remaining in the first half to give the Red Foxes a 10-8 lead, the Golden Griffins would not see another lead. Following Logins' three at the 16:12 mark, Marist embarked on a 29-4 run over the next 9:04 to build a 22-point lead. The Red Foxes led by as much as 23 in the first half, and took a 45-26 lead into halftime, shooting .500 (17-for-34) from the field and .417 (5-for-12) from behind the three-point arc prior to the intermission.
Canisius chipped away at the deficit, but never got closer than eight points in the second half. Although Marist converted just three field-goal attempts in the second half, the Red Foxes went 22-for-36 from the line after halftime, and held Canisius to .317 shooting (13-for-41) in the second half.
Canisius guard Gaby Belardo came off the bench to lead all scorers with 19 points. Hymes added 14 points for the Golden Griffins, while Logins scored seven points while pulling down a team-high nine rebounds. The Red Foxes outrebounded the Golden Griffins 43-40, and went 28-for-42 from the free-throw line while Canisius was 7-for-10.
Marist is now 2-6 on the season, 2-0 in MAAC play. Canisius is now 3-4 overall and 0-2 in conference.
Marist goes on the road to face Rutgers of the Big East Conference on Tuesday in Piscataway, N.J., for the Red Foxes' third game in five days. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and can be heard on GoRedFoxes.com with Ed Weir and Dean Darling on the call starting at 7 p.m.
Notes: For the second straight game, Marist brought a 19-point lead into halftime (Friday vs. Niagara, 44-25)... Marist's 45-point first half effort broke Head Coach Chuck Martin's newly set record for points in a half, established again Friday vs. Niagara (44 points). ... This is the first time Marist won back-to-back MAAC regular-season games since defeating Iona and Loyola in the final two games of the 2007-08 regular season. ... Prescott's double-double was the Red Foxes' second of the season and second in as many games, following Bowie's 15-point, 10-rebound effort against Niagara. ... With the win, the Red Foxes established their first multiple game winning streak since defeating Delaware on Dec. 23, 2008, and Bucknell on Dec. 28, 2008. ... It was the first time Marist had five double-digit scorers since the Red Foxes also had five against Manhattan on Jan. 2, 2010. ... Marist is 2-0 in the MAAC for the first time since the 2006-07 season and fifth time in its 14 years in the conference.
