UNCASVILLE, Conn. - The
Marist Men's Basketball team was defeated by Vermont in the third game of the
Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament by a score of 84-75. In a physical contest, the
Red Foxes were undone by 22 second half converted free throws by the
Catamounts. Freshman Chavaughn Lewis (Queens, N.Y.) and junior Devin Price
(Inglewood, Calif.) led the Red Foxes with 15 points a piece.
The game began slowly as the teams combined for 14 points and
four turnovers over the first four minutes of play. Coming out of the first
media timeout down 9-5, the Red Foxes sprung out on a quick 5-0 run as Price
converted an and-one opportunity for the first three points and sophomore
Pieter Prinsloo (Johannesburg, South Africa) tipped-in a missed jumper by
red-shirt junior Dorvell Carter(Bronx, N.Y.).
With a 10-9 advantage at 14:44, the lead flip-flopped
amongst each team over the next 5:28 of play. Vermont was able to extend their
lead to four points at 19-15 with 8:21 remaining following a made three-point
basket.
From that point in time, the Marist offense rattled off nine
consecutive points over the next 3:08. Carter, freshman Manny Thomas (Brooklyn,
N.Y.), Lewis and a three-pointer by sophomore Jay Bowie (Tampa, Fla.) paced the
Red Foxes with made baskets.
With Marist up 24-19 at 5:13, Vermont closed the first half
with a 13-5 run to take a three point lead into the locker room.
Though trailing on the scoreboard at half, Marist was
leading Vermont in field goal percentage at 42.3 (11-26) versus 41.7 (10-24)
and in rebounds at 16-14.
Coming out in the second half, offense was the name of the
game as Marist made their first three shots, two treys, one by Carter and one
by freshman Isaiah Morton (Richland, N.J.). Unfortunately for the Red Foxes,
Vermont was even more successful from the field as they converted their first
eight attempts through the 12:25 mark of the second period.
Faced with a double digit deficit with 10:10 left to play,
the Red Foxes, strung together six straight points, as Thomas led the way with
four made foul shots.
Down 57-53 at 8:59, Marist cut the lead to three points 1:33
later after redshirt-sophomore Anell Alexis (Hillsborough, N.J.) made free
throw.
With the score 59-56, the Red Foxes saw their chances of
victory slowly fade as the Catamounts had a 12-4 run over the next 2:50 of play.
Lewis continued to succeed on offense for the squad as he
scored seven consecutive and nine of 11 points down the stretch for Marist.
After 40 minutes of play, the Red Foxes came up nine points
short as Vermont was victorious 84-75.
For the game, Lewis and Price led four Red Foxes in double
figures with 15 points each; Carter, 11 points and Bowie, 10 were the other two
players. Pressed into extended duty off of the bench, Prinsloo corralled a
career-high seven rebounds.
As a team, Marist shot 25-56 from the field (44.6), 7-19
from three point range (36.8) and 18-25 from the foul line (72.0).
Marist will next be in action on Sunday, Nov. 20 where they
will meet Radford in the consolation game of
the 2011 Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic. The game is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m.
