DELAND, Florida – The Marist men's basketball team won its third straight game on Saturday afternoon, as the Red foxes defeated Stetson, 79-75. Marist is now 4-4 on the season, while the Hatters dropped to 2-9.
- The Red Foxes got off to a scorching start, getting out to a 12-10 lead behind six points from senior Brian Parker and the team as a whole making their first six shots.
- Red-shirt junior Aleksandar Dozic came off the bench and hit two straight threes in the first half, to help preserve the Red Foxes' lead heading into the second media timeout.
- Marist used a 12-0 run, which included holding Stetson coreless for five minutes of game time, to take a 31-19 advantage with just over five minutes to play in the first half.
- The Red Foxes would take a nine-point lead into the break at 43-34.
- Senior David Knudsen was on fire out of the gate in the second half, hitting three straight threes on three straight possessions, preserving a 10-point Marist lead with 17:13 left to play.
- A pair of free throws from senior Ryan Funk with 13:32 remaining gave Marist a 15-point lead, which was its largest lead of the game.
- Stetson closed the gap to five points with 2:20 remaining, but a three by senior Isaiah Lamb stopped the Hatters' run and gave Marist a 74-66 lead.
- The Hatters got to within two with under a minute remaining, but a pair of free throws by Funk in the closing seconds gave Marist a 79-75 lead, icing the game for the Red Foxes.
- Lamb led the Red foxes with 18 points and seven rebounds.
- Stetson's Christiaan Jones had game highs in points, rebounds, and steals with 23, nine, and three, respectively.
- Parker was Marist's second leading scorer with 16 points, while Knudsen was third on the team with 11 points (all in the second half). Dozic and Funk also had double-figure points, with 10 each. Dozic added five rebounds and an impressive four assists on some beautiful backdoor looks.
- Marist shot .509 from the field, while the Hatters shot .742
- Marist had 11 turnovers, while Stetson had 15.
- This was Marist's first win against Stetson in program history in three tries.
- Funk, who is 14-for-14 from the free-throw line this season, has made 29 straight free throws dating back to last season.
- In Marist's three-game winning streak, freshman Darius Hines has seven assists and zero turnovers in 85 total minutes.
- Marist has shot over 50 percent from the field four times in the season's first eight games. The Red Foxes have shot at least 47 percent in all four of their victories.
The Red Foxes look to extend their winning streak to four games, as they travel to Colgate for an afternoon matchup against the Raiders. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15.
