POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist men's basketball team dropped a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game on Friday night at McCann Arena, falling 71-66 to Siena. Marist is now 6-9 overall (1-2 MAAC), while the Saints improved to 5-10 (1-2 MAAC).
 

GAME SUMMARY

• A tightly contested first half featured both teams' defenses in the spotlight, as the Red Foxes and Saints combined to shoot 17-for-50 from the field, and 5-for-21 from deep.
• After Marist scored the game's first six points, Siena briefly took a 10-7 lead. However, a personal 4-0 run from senior Isaiah Lamb put the Red Foxes back in front 11-10. These were just two of the eight lead changes that took place in the half.
• Senior Brian Parker converted two consecutive fast-break layups with under two minutes remaining in the half, following two straight Siena turnovers, which gave the Red Foxes a 22-20 lead. However, a jumper by Georges Darwiche just before the shot and game clock expired, sent Marist and Siena to the locker room tied at 22.
• The Red Foxes came out of the gates firing in the second half, hitting three of their first five three-point attempts. This run was highlighted by a deep three from senior Ryan Funk with 11:30 remaining in the second period. This gave Marist a 41-36 lead, which was its largest lead of the second half.
• Siena briefly re-took the lead; however, an 8-0 Marist run put the Red Foxes back on top, 51-44, with 7:26 left in the game. This was the largest lead of the night for Marist.
• Siena quickly answered with a 11-2 run of its own to re-take the lead, but a layup by Parker tied the score at 55 with 4:37 left to play.
• Back-to-back threes from Evan Fisher and Sloan Seymour gave Siena a 66-59 lead with under two minutes left to play. The Red Foxes would get to as close as three, but they could never overcome this deficit.

 

KEY STATS

• Lamb led Marist with 13 points and eight rebounds.
• Joining Lamb in double figures were Parker (12), Funk (11), and Knudsen (10).
• Fisher had a game-high 23 points for Siena (8-for-10 from the field, 2-for-2 on threes), to go along with four rebounds and two assists.
• The Saints shot 10-for-22 from three-point range, while the Red Foxes shot just 5-for-22.
• Marist outrebounded Siena, 33-28.
• Overall the game had 17 lead changes, and 10 ties.

 

GAME NOTES

• Today marked first time the Red Foxes have lost this season with four players scoring in double-digits.
• With his 11 points tonight, Funk is now up to 991 career points.
• Junior Tobias Sjoberg tied his season high with six rebounds tonight.
• The last nine games at McCann Arena between Marist and Siena have been decided by a total of 46 points.

 

QUOTE

"I tip my hat to Siena," head coach John Dunne said. "They made a lot of shots at the end. ... I thought my team played extremely hard for 40 minutes." 
 

UP NEXT

The Red Foxes hit the road again and will travel to face MAAC opponent Saint Peter's on Sunday, January 13. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. Audio is available here, and video is available here.