POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist men's basketball team suffered am 84-76 overtime loss to Lehigh at McCann Arena on Saturday night in the season opener for both teams.
Summary
The Mountain Hawks jumped out to the early lead and led by as many as 14 in the first half when they held a 26-12 lead with 7:12 left in the first half. The Red Foxes trimmed the deficit to seven at 28-21 with 4:05 left in the half but Lehigh answered back and held the 38-26 advantage at the half.
Marist came out flying in the second half, scoring the first eight points of the frame and trimming the deficit to two at 38-36 with 16:17 left. The Mountain Hawks built their lead back up to 10 with a 54-44 advantage at the 9:26 mark. The Red Foxes answered with a 14-4 run over the next 4:10 and a free throw by junior
David Knudsen tied the game at 58-58 with 5:16 left in the game. Â
After the Mountain Hawks regained the lead, Marist again answered back and took its first lead of the game at 3:41 when red-shirt sophomoreÂ
Aleksandar Dozic hit a layup to put the Red Foxes up one. Marist built their lead up to as many as three and two but Lehigh tied the game at 67-67 with 28 seconds left in the game. Junior
Ryan Funk gave the Red Foxes a two-point lead on a free throw with 12 seconds remaining. The Mountain Hawks took the ball down the court looking for the tying basket and were fouled in the process of attempting a three-point shot, sending Lance Tejada to the line with five seconds left in the game. Tejada made two of the three foul shots and the game went into overtime tied at 69.
Marist opened the overtime with an and one on a layup by sophomore
Tobias Sjoberg to go up three and after a Lehigh layup, again Sjoberg put the Red Foxes up three with a jump hook from the left block. The Mountain Hawks answered on their next possession with a three pointer by Kyle Leufroy and they never looked back, building their lead to as many as eight over the next 3:48 to secure the 84-76 victory.
Key Stats
- Lehigh committed just eight turnovers in the game, compared to 16 for Marist. The Red Foxes had 11 turnovers in the first half, just one in the second half, and four in overtime.
- Lehigh had 75 field goal attempts, as compared to 55 for Marist.
- Marist had 29 free throw attempts, as compared to 17 for Lehigh.
- Tejada led all scorers with 24.
- Junior guard Brian Parker Marist with 22 points, followed by Ryan Funk with 19.
- In his first game as a Red Foxes, Dozic had 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
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Game Notes
- Marist is now 0-5 against Lehigh.
- Marist has dropped 10 straight season openers.
- Lehigh is the first of three Patriot League teams who will visit McCann Arena this season. Marist hosts Army West Point on Saturday, Nov. 18 and Colgate on Wednesday, Dec. 6.
Quote of the Night
"I'm proud of my guys for the way they fought after being down double digits at halftime," head coach
Mike Maker said. "Having said that, we put ourselves in position to get a real quality win at home in front of a crowd that was behind a team that showed a lot of fight and spirit. We had opportunities … to get a real quality win over a program that's had a lot of success."
Up Next
The Red Foxes return to action on Wednesday when they travel to UMass Lowell. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
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