POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist's men's basketball team opened Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play with a 63-58 win over Siena at McCann Arena on Friday night.
 
Summary
Marist sophomore center Tobias Sjoberg had back-to-back baskets on the Red Foxes' first two possessions. The teams exchanged baskets throughout the first half as Marist led for the first ten-and-a-half minutes, but never by more than six. Siena took its first lead of the game from a corner three-pointer by Nico Clareth to make the game 16-15 with 9:27 left in the half. Junior guard David Knudsen's fourth steal of the first half resulted in a three-point play as Marist expanded its lead back to six at 24-18. The Saints fought back and brought the game to 31-31 at half.
 
With the score tied at 33 apiece early in the second half, junior forward Ryan Funk caught fire. Funk scored the game's next 12 points, which included three three-pointers, as Marist took a 45-33 lead. The Red Foxes' lead reached as large as 14, but the Saints would not go away, cutting Marist's lead to four with 5:46 left in the half. With 44.7 seconds left in the game, Siena's Roman Penn sunk both shots at the line to cut Marist's lead to 60-58. Sjoberg went one for two from the line to give Marist a three-point lead with 29 seconds to go. The Red Foxes then got stops on the final two possessions, and junior guard Brian Parker hit two free throws to seal the victory.
 
Key Stats

• Parker led all scorers with 18 points.
• Funk finished the night with 17 points. He shot 4-for-7 from three-point range, and hit all of the Red Foxes' three-pointers in the contest.
• Knudsen finished with 13 points, five steals, four rebounds, and a team-high three assists. His defensive coverage, along with that of junior forward Isaiah Lamb, helped limit Siena's Clareth to seven points on 2-for-16 shooting. This was more than nine points under Clareth's average per game.
• Sjoberg led Marist with eight rebounds to go along with seven points.
• Siena held a 45-36 edge in rebounds.
• Ashante Shivers led Siena in points (12) and rebounds (12).
• Marist did not hit a three-pointer in the first half, but thanks to Funk, went 4-for-10 from deep in the second half.

 
Notes

• Knudsen's five steals were a career high, as were his seven free throws made. Four of Knudsen's steals came in the first half.
• Marist is now 14-7 all time in MAAC openers and 15-6 all-time in December MAAC home games.
• This is the fourth time Marist has opened MAAC play against Siena in Poughkeepsie. Marist has won all four.
• Marist's .222 three-point percentage (4-for-18) was its lowest in a victory in head coach Mike Maker's three-and-a-half seasons.
• The 58 points the Red Foxes allowed were their lowest total in their last 47 games, dating back to a 71-58 win over Rider on Feb. 23, 2016.
• Home teams have won four of the first five games in MAAC play this season.

 
Quote of the Day
"I thought we guarded extremely well," head coach Mike Maker said. "We did a really good job on Nico Clareth, who's a handful. He's one of the marquee players in our league. That assignment went to Isaiah (Lamb) and David (Knudsen), and they did a phenomenal job on him."
 
Records
Marist is 3-10 overall and 1-0 in the MAAC; Siena is 4-10 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
 
Up Next
The Red Foxes will continue their three-game conference opening home stand against Manhattan on Tuesday, Jan. 2. Tip-off at McCann Arena is set for 7 p.m., and tickets are available at MaristTickets.com.