Jan. 21, 2011

Box Score

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. - The Marist men's basketball team lost a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) game at Rider on Thursday by the score of 80-66. Sophomore guards Sam Prescott (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Candon Rusin (Surf City, N.C.) led the Red Foxes with 18 points apiece.

Prescott held at least a share of the team lead in scoring for the sixth straight game, and hit a career-high five three-pointers in 10 attempts. Rusin's 18 points were a career high. Sophomore point guard Devin Price (Inglewood, Calif.) made his first start of the season and finished with season highs of 15 points and six assists to go along with a career-high four steals and four rebounds. Freshman forward Adam Kemp (Sherrill, N.Y.) tied a career high with 13 rebounds.

All five Rider starters scored in double digits, led by Brandon Penn with 20, which included four three-pointers. Danny Stewart had a double-double of 11 points, 12 rebounds in addition to three blocks, two steals and two assists, and Mike Ringgold tallied 11 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.

A competitive first half included four ties and one lead change, and a three-pointer by Prescott with 56 seconds left in the first half tied the score at 32 apiece. However, Penn's three-pointer with 23 seconds remaining give Rider a 35-32 lead going into halftime.

From there, the Broncs led the rest of the way, and pulled away by starting the second half on a 13-1 run. Rider led by as much as 18 in the second half, but the Red Foxes cut the deficit to 67-61 with 2:13 remaining following a three-pointer by Price and a transition layup by Rusin. However, the Broncs closed the game by shooting 7-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final minute of play.

Rider shot .450 (27-for-60) from the field, as compared to .362 (25-for-69) for Marist. The Red Foxes hit a season-high 13 three-pointers, but went just 3-for-7 from the free-throw line as Rider went 20-for-27. The Red Foxes held a 43-39 edge in rebounds, including a season-high 17 offensive rebounds, but committed 19 turnovers as compared to 14 for Rider.

Marist is now 4-16 overall and 3-5 in MAAC play; Rider is 13-7 overall and 5-3 in the MAAC.

The Red Foxes will return to action on Saturday, when they host Loyola at 2 p.m. at the McCann Center. The game will be televised on MSG and MASN as part of the MAAC television package. The first 200 fans, ages 14 and under, will receive a free Marist mini basketball courtesy of Anaconda Sports. All fans are also invited to take part in an autograph session with the entire Marist men's basketball team that will take place on the McCann Center court after the game. For ticket information, contact the Marist Ticket Office at (845) 575-3553.