POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The
Marist men's basketball won a hard-fought contest over rival Siena Thursday
night at the McCann Arena by a score of 61-52. Tough defense and efficient
offense down the stretch gave the Red Foxes their 12th win of the
2011-12 season. Freshmen Chavaughn Lewis (Queens, N.Y.) and Isaiah Morton
(Richland, N.J.) led the Red Foxes with a combined 31 points and 10 assists.
The offense came early for Marist via the three-pointer as
nine of their first 11 points were from distance. Morton found success with his
first two attempts of the game to score the Red Foxes' first six points. Junior
Devin Price (Inglewood, Calif.) was the third Red Fox to hit a trey in the
opening 6:44.
With the score 11-9 in Marist's favor at 13:16, the teams
swapped the lead four times over the next 6:34 with neither squad taking more
than a two point lead. This back-and-forth play stopped at 6:42 following a
sophomore Jay Bowie (Tampa, Fla.) basket gave Marist an 18-16 lead that they
would hold for the next 21:51 of play.
The Red Foxes would close out the remainder of the half on a
10-4 run to go into the locker room up 28-20.
At the break, Marist held advantages in field goal shooting
at 39.3 (11-28) to 29.6 (8-27) and in three point shooting at 25.0 (3-12) to
20.0 (1-5). The freshman duo of Morton and Lewis highlighted the Red Foxes'
individual play with scoring totals of eight and six points, respectively.
A slow start to the second half by the host Red Foxes gave
Siena a bit of daylight as the Saints were able to whittle their eight point
halftime deficit down to four at 30-26 within the first 3:29. An 8-2 run by
Marist quickly gave swung the momentum back in its favor. Sophomore Adam Kemp
(Sherrill, N.Y.) led this mini-streak as he converted two baskets from close in
and snagged two rebounds during the 3:54 span of play.
Marist was able to keep the game at a seven or more point
advantage over the next five minutes, including twice reaching a 12 point lead.
With their second 12 point lead at 46-34, the Red Foxes hit
an inopportune 4:44 stretch of play where they shot 0-5 with two turnovers,
while the Saints shot 5-7, with three made free throws. The outcome of this
span was a 14-0 run and Siena's first lead of the second half at 48-46.
Unshaken, Marist gathered itself and came back with a streak
of its own to close the game and clinch the win. Over the final 4:47, the Red
Foxes outscored Siena 15-4 overall and 9-0 in the final 1:52. It was as if the
pressure of playing a rival and performing before a loud and boisterous McCann
Arena crowd wasn't even there as the young Red Foxes calmly hit both of their
three point attempts and seven of eight free throws in the closing minutes to
earn the 61-52 victory.
Individually, Lewis was the Red Foxes' top scorer with 16
points. He also led the team with a career-tying total of nine rebounds. With
his basket at 12:17 in the second half, he took over sole possession of Marist's
all-time Division 1 Freshman scoring record that was previously held by Jay
Gavin and his 395 points of 2007-08.
Morton was the only other Red Fox in double figures as he
scored 15 points. The freshman point guard tied a career-high with six assists.
Kemp tallied nine points, seven rebounds and three blocks,
while Bowie finished with seven points and seven rebounds.
Statistically, Siena outshot Marist 37.9 to 37.0, though
Marist held advantages in three point and free throw shooting at 28.6 (6-21) to
13.3 (2-15) and 83.3 (15-18) to 46.2 (6-13). This was the Red Foxes' third win
of the season while being outshot.
With the win, Marist improved to 12-17 on the year and 6-11
in the MAAC. Siena, which was led by OD Anosike's 15 points and 13 rebounds,
fell to 12-16 overall and 7-10 in the MAAC.
The Red Foxes concludes the regular season on Sunday against
Niagara at 2 p.m. at McCann Arena. The program will honor its seniors - point
guard R.J. Hall and managers Edmond Penn and Robert Hoey - prior to the
contest.
