POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist men's basketball team fell to Quinnipiac 85-77 Thursday evening at McCann Arena in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game.
Summary
Junior forward
Ryan Funk got things started with a long three and sparked an 8-1 run in the first three minutes of the game. The Bobcats brought Marist's lead down to 9-8 but junior guard
David Knudsen responded with five quick points. The two teams played each other closely throughout the first half, with Marist only leading by one possession through most of the half. The Red Foxes used an 8-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back threes from Funk to get their biggest lead of the half at 39-30 with 1:21 remaining. A three-point play by Quinnipiac's Rich Kelly in the waning seconds.
Quinnipiac opened up the second half on a 15-2 run, hitting its first four shots from the floor and taking a 48-41 lead. Marist then answered with seven straight points to tie the game, but the Bobcats then jumped out to a nine-point lead. With 22 seconds left, junior guard
Brian Parker drained two free throws to cut the Red Foxes' deficit to 79-77. Marist then deflected the inbound pass from Quinnipiac, but was unable to secure it. Quinnipiac sealed the victory by going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final 20 seconds.
Key Stats
- Ryan Funk had 23 points, scoring 17 of them in the first half. That set a season high, and tied a career high, which was first set at Quinnipiac last season.
- Four other players scored in double digits, with Parker and Knudsen scoring 12, and junior forward Isaiah Lamb and red-shirt sophomore forward Aleksandar Dozic scoring 10.
- Rich Kelly led four Quinnipiac double-digit scorers with 20 points, and had a game-high six assists.
- There were just 13 turnovers in the game (six for Marist, seven for Quinnipiac).
- The Red Foxes shot .684 from the line (13-for-19) compared to the Bobcats' .826 (19-for-23).
- In the second half, Quinnipiac shot .500 from the field (13-for-26), .500 from three-point range (9-for-18), and .850 from the free-throw line (17-for-20).
Notes
- Parker now has career 1,190 points, moving him into a tie for 17th place in program history with Bobby Joe Hatton.
- The six turnovers marked a season low for the Red Foxes.
- This is the first time this season Marist has had five double-digit scorers in a game.
- Marist has led in the second half of every MAAC game it has played this season.
- Both teams' coaching staffs wore sneakers as part of the NABC's Coaches vs. Cancer initiative.
Quote of the Day
"I thought the difference in the game was the first four minutes of the second half," Marist head coach
Mike Maker said. "We stopped guarding, which gave them momentum … and then we were impatient offensively."
Records
Marist is 4-16 overall and 2-5 in MAAC play. Quinnipiac is 8-13 and 5-4 in conference play.
Up Next
Marist faces Monmouth at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island as part of a MAAC tripleheader on Saturday, Jan. 27. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m., and will be the second of the day's three games.
