POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Coming
into Sunday afternoon's matchup, the Red Foxes knew that that were welcoming an
offensive juggernaut in Iona to the McCann Arena. After 40 minutes of
basketball they saw first-hand what the fourth highest scoring team in the entire
NCAA was capable of as Marist (7-9, 2-3 MAAC) fell by a score of 100-76. A substantial
halftime deficit proved to be Marist's undoing as they played Iona (13-3, 5-0
MAAC) even in the second half. Sophomore Adam Kemp (Sherrill, N.Y.) led the Red
Foxes with career-highs in both points with 25 and rebounds with 15.
Marist found itself in an early hole as Iona came out on
fire and hit 10 of its first 12 field goal attempts from the field during the
first 10 minutes of play.
Faced with a 15 point deficit, Marist focused on taking away
the Gaels' interior offense that was led by Mike Glover. Iona looked to its
bench to combat this strategy and subbed in Kyle Smyth, who came in and made
four consecutive three-point attempts and five of seven overall from distance in
the half.
Junior Devin Price (Inglewood, Calif.) was the leading
catalyst for Marist offensively in the first half as he scored 13 points on
5-12 shooting. The shooting guard went 2-5 from three-point territory and added
two rebounds, as well in the first 20 minutes. He was aided by Kemp, who had
eight points and eight rebounds at the break.
Iona took a 56-32 lead into the locker rooms on the strength
of its 65.5 (19-29) field goal percentage and 75.0 (6-8) three-point
percentage. Marist held advantages in free throw percentage at 77.8 (14-18) to
66.7 (12-18), as well as in rebounds at 21 to 17.
Coming out in the second half, the Red Foxes quickly cut
away at the Gaels' 24 point lead with a 13-1 run to open play. This 12-point
swing was spearheaded by the duo of Kemp and Price, who scored 11 of the Red
Foxes' points. Individually, Price scored seven straight points on three
possessions.
Down 12 with 16:36 still remaining in the second half, the Red
Foxes seemingly had Iona on its heels. Unfortunately for the young Marist team,
a veteran-laden Iona squad bent, but never broken in the second half.
Marist cut the lead to 12 points, six times in the second
half, but never got any closer as Iona re-found their hot shooting stroke of
the first half and shot a combined 17-30 from the field for 56.7 percent in the
final period.
The Red Foxes' play in the second half was highlighted by
five rim-shaking dunks by Kemp, who ended with 17 points in his 18 minutes of
play. Price and freshman Chavaughn Lewis (Queens, N.Y.) finished the second
half with 10 points a piece. The trio notched 37 of Marist's 44 points in the
final 20 minutes.
When the final whistle blew, the Iona Gaels had defeated the
Marist Red Foxes by a score of 100-76.
As a team, Marist finished behind Iona in field goal and
three-point shooting percentages at 61.0 to 38.5 and 54.5 to 26.1,
respectively. The Red Foxes improved their overall season mark from the foul
line with a 20-25 showing.
Kemp finished the game with a career-best 25 points on 10-13
field goal shooting and a 5-5 effort from the foul line. He also set a
career-high with 15 rebounds, 10 of which were of the offensive variety. Price
and Lewis joined Kemp in double figures. Price nearly reached a career-high
before settling with 23 points and Lewis finished with 13 points.
The team will next be in action on Friday, Jan. 13 in
Buffalo, N.Y. when they meet Canisius in a 7 p.m. matchup.
