POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The
Marist men's basketball team (3-5, 1-1 MAAC) used a 55.6 field goal percentage
and career-best scoring days from junior Devin Price (Inglewood, Calif.),
sophomore Adam Kemp (Sherrill, N.Y.) and freshman Isaiah Morton (Richland,
N.J.) to post a 20 point victory in their MAAC home opener over Rider (1-8,
0-2) by a final score of 95-75.
In the program's highest scoring regulation game effort
since Nov. 30, 2002 at LaSalle (a 97-80 win), the Red Foxes came out and shot a
staggering 7-7 from three point range to begin the contest. Led by three treys
by Price, Marist notched its' seventh field goal from distance by the 12:14
mark of the first half. During this 7:46 stretch of play, the team shot 8-10
from the field and saw their lead grow to as much as 13 points (20-7) at the
15:25 mark. The streak culminated with a four-point play by Price at 12:14, to
give Marist a 24-15 lead.
An 8-1 Rider run tightened the game to within two points at
25-23 with 8:56 left in the first half. Almost on cue, the Red Foxes went back
to dialing up three pointers as Morton found freshman Chavaughn Lewis (Queens,
N.Y.), who calmly sank a trey just 16 seconds later. This basket was the first
of 11 consecutive points for Marist. This stretch of play gave the Red Foxes a
then game-high lead of 13 at the 5:32 mark.
The Broncs closed the half with a slight 13-9 advantage to
bring the score at half to Marist 45, Rider 36.
At the break, Price and Lewis were each in double figures
with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Price's statline included 4-5 shooting
from three point range, while Lewis was 5-6 from the foul line. Marist finished
its first 20 minutes with 50.0 percent shooting (14-28) and 64.3 from three
point range (9-14), while Rider posted percentages of 55.2 from the field (16-29)
and 0.0 from three (0-5).
Rider began the second half on a quick 7-2 run, that brought
the game to within five points at 47-42, 1:33 into play. The Red Foxes stamped
out any thoughts by Rider of coming back any closer with a 9-0 run over the
next 2:13. Led by consecutive three pointers by Price, Marist found themselves
up 14 points.
Following Price's two treys, the story of the final 15:45 of
the contest was the play of Kemp. Saddled with two fouls, the 6-10 sophomore
went both scoreless and rebound-less in the first half of play, that would
change in the second half. Until subbing out for the final time at 2:32, Kemp
would dominate Rider in the low-post with 19 points and 7 rebounds in just 15
minutes of second half action.
Recognizing this ability to play the ball to the basket
helped changed Marist's offensive strategy in the second half as they took just
six three pointers. On the strength of 16-25 shooting from the field and 14-16
from the line, the Red Foxes would see their double-digit lead balloon to as
much 27 points at 76-49 at the 9:52 mark of the second half. This season-best
lead was posted in good part on the strength of a 13-0 run from 14:46 to 11:25.
Marist would keep a strong grip on the 20 plus point
advantage for almost the rest of the game, minus a Rider three point basket,
that lowered the deficit to 19 with under a minute to play.
When the clock went to zero, the Red Foxes were victorious
by a score of 95-75.
For the game, four Red Foxes registered double figure
scoring contests, Price with 25 points, Kemp with 19, Lewis with 17 and Morton
with 15. Kemp and Lewis shared the team-lead with seven rebounds, while Morton
led the team with five assists.
As a team, Marist outshot Rider 56.6 percent (30-53) to 48.4
(30-62) from the field and 65.0 percent (13-20) to 7.1 (1-14) percent from
three point range. Each squad shot similar figures from the foul line with
Rider at 82.4 (14-17) and Marist at 81.5 (22-27).
The Red Foxes will jump back into non-conference action with
a home matchup with Hudson Valley rival Army at 7 p.m. at the McCann Arena.
