POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist men's basketball team lost its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference season opener 75-72 to the Canisius Golden Griffins on Thursday night at McCann Arena. With the loss, the Red Foxes fall to 5-8 overall, and 0-1 in the MAAC. Canisius is now 4-8 overall and 1-0 in the MAAC.
 

SUMMARY

• Senior Isaiah Lamb got off to a hot start, scoring six of Marist's first eight points, but Canisius took a 10-8 lead into the first media timeout.
• With 11:20 remaining in the first half, Jonathan Sanks hit a three to give Canisius a 21-12 lead, which was its largest lead of the first half. Parker answered with a three of his own a minute later, bringing the Red foxes back to within six.
• The Golden Griffins closed the first half on a 6-0 run, highlighted by a three by Isaiah Reese, and took a 34-31 lead into the locker room.
• Marist never led in the second half, but never trailed by more than six points until Isaiah Reese drilled a three with 58 seconds left, giving the Golden Griffins an eight-point lead.
• Senior Ryan Funk drilled his second three of the game with just 23 seconds remaining to bring the Red Foxes within three, forcing a Canisius timeout.
• On the next possession, Takal Molson missed two free throws, giving Marist a chance to tie the game. Freshman Darius Hines' three from the left corner fell just short, as would the Red Foxes late comeback attempt.

                                        

KEY STATS

• Lamb had a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds.
• Molson led Canisius with 19 points, followed by Faulkner with 18.
• Junior Tobias Sjoberg grabbed six rebounds, and led the Red Foxes with four assists.
• Isaiah Reese nearly compiled a triple-double for Canisius, scoring nine points, grabbing seven rebounds, and dishing out eight assists.
• The Golden Griffins had a big advantage in offensive rebounds, grabbing 16 compared to Marist's seven. This was the most any Red Fox opponent had this season.
• Canisius dished out 18 assists, while the Red Foxes had just nine.

 

GAME NOTES

• Parker's three with 9:32 remaining in the first half moved him into 8^th on Marist's all-time scoring list, surpassing Jared Jordan. He finished the night with 19 points, which gives him 1,555 for his career, good for a tied for seventh with Danny Basile on the program's all-time list.
• Lamb had a season-high 21 points, good for the third 20-point game of his career. His nine rebounds also matched his career high.
• Faulkner's 18 points set a new career high.
• Sjoberg matched his season high with six rebounds, and set a season high with four assists.
• The Red Foxes are now 14-8 all-time in MAAC openers.
• Canisius extends its all-time series lead to 31-18. 

 

QUOTE

 "I thought we competed for 40 minutes," head coach John Dunne said. "Certainly there's a few rebound situations I wish we could have back, but I thought our effort was really good. I'm proud of their effort, and I feel good about what we can accomplish this year if we stick with the same effort."
 

UP NEXT

The Red Foxes return to McCann Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 8 for a MAAC matchup against the Manhattan Jaspers. It will be the second game of a three-game home stand for Marist. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be carried live on ESPN+. Tickets are available on MaristTickets.com.