POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Marist men's basketball team amassed its highest total in 19 years on Saturday night, as the Red Foxes defeated Virginia Military Institute 112-74 at McCann Arena in a Ramada Worldwide BracketBusters contest.
Sophomore swingman Chavaughn Lewis (Queens, N.Y.) turned in career highs with 30 points and 16 rebounds, with 15 on the defensive end. Lewis also had six assists and tied his career high with five steals. The double-double was the third of his career.
Sophomore point guard Isaiah Morton (Vineland, N.J.) had the first double-double of his career, with 11 points and a career-high 13 assists. Sophomore guard T.J. Curry (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored an efficient 16 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field, 4-for-4 shooting from three-point range and a 2-for-2 effort from the free-throw line.
After missing four straight games due to an injury, senior guard Devin Price (Inglewood, Calif.) returned to action and scored 20 points, all in the second half.
In a contest that promised high scores and fast-paced action, the Red Foxes did their part of the opening minutes of the game as they broke out to a seven-point lead of 18-11 by the 15:36 mark of play. Lewis and Curry led the way with eight points a piece; six of Curry's eight came via three pointers.
A little over four minutes later at 11:00, the Red Foxes would extend their first half lead to a 19-point margin at 32-13. Long range accuracy and feeding Adam Kemp (Sherrill, N.Y.) down low would bolster this streak as Marist hit two treys and its starting center netted six points on three consecutive baskets in the paint.
The Red Foxes stretched their lead to 32 points at 50-18 following a Morton layup at 3:48.
VMI would cut their deficit down to 19 as the teams retired to the locker room at half time.
At the break the Red Foxes were shooting 65.6 percent (21-32) from the field, 50.0 percent (5-10) from three-point range and 72.7 (8-11) from the foul line to stake themselves to the season-best 19-point lead.
In the second half, the teams traded baskets for the opening seven-plus minutes as the Red Foxes' lead constantly hovered in the 16 to 22-point range.
From the 12:13 mark to the 4:32 mark, Marist would increase its lead from 17 to 38 points. Up 38 at 102-64, the Red Foxes would close the game out over the final minutes at 112-74. The fans at McCann Arena were treated to back-to-back three pointers by senior Jesse Martin (Columbia, Md.) and junior Pat Ramsey (Easthampton, Mass.) in this last stretch of play.
For the game, Marist outshot VMI 64.1 percent (41-64) to 36.4 (28-77) from the field and 57.1 percent (12-21) to 25.6 (10-39) from three-point range.
Of note, the Red Foxes outscored the Keydets 56-37 in both halves.
The 38-point margin of victory was the program's largest since Jan. 21, 1995 when Marist defeated St. Francis (N.Y.) 93-54.
The Red Foxes will return to MAAC action on Friday, March 1 with a road meeting at Siena. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
Notes: This is the first time Marist scored 100 points twice in the same season since the 1995-96 campaign (100 vs. Wagner, Jan. 20, 1996; 104 vs. LIU, Feb. 8, 1996). ... This was Marist's highest point total since defeating LIU 115-101 on Feb. 12, 1994. ... Marist closed out BracketBusters play with a 5-3 all-time record, including a 4-1 record under Head Coach Chuck Martin and a 4-0 record at McCann Arena.
