BUFFALO, New York – The Marist men's basketball team was defeated by Canisius, 81-72, in its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opener on Friday night at the Koessler Athletic Center.
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- Canisius' Jacco Fritz opened the scoring with a three-pointer, but Marist responded with six straight.
- A jumper by Raheim Sullivan gave Marist its largest lead, 12-7 at the 13:36 mark of the first half.
- A three-pointer by the Golden Griffins' Ahamadou Fofana started a 15-5 Canisius run, as the Golden Griffins took a 10-point lead in the final two minutes of the first half.
- Jumpers by Sullivan and Michael Cubbage cut Marist's deficit to 36-30 going to the locker room.
- A three-point play by Fritz gave Canisius its largest lead at 46-34 with 16:42 remaining.
- A pair of free throws by Ricardo Wright brought the Red Foxes to within three at the 3:57 mark. However, Malek Green answered with a three-pointer on the ensuing possession for Canisius, and the Red Foxes never got back within one possession the rest of the way.
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- Hakim Byrd led the Red Foxes with 17 points. Byrd shot 7-for-12 from the field and 2-for-5 from three-point range.
- Sullivan and Michael Cubbage each contributed 15 points. Cubbage hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds.
- Green led Canisius in points (18) and rebounds (seven). He shot 8-for-13 from the field.
- The Golden Griffins shot .552 (32-for-58) from the field.
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- Cubbage's double-double was the first by a Red Fox this season, and the third of his career.
- Marist is now 14-10 all-time in MAAC openers.
- Canisius has now won three straight against Marist, and leads the all-time series, 33-19.
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"Defensively, it starts there, giving up 55 percent overall and 81 ponts," head coach
John Dunne said. "When you give up that high of a percentage and only turn a team over eight times, you're going to struggle to win any game."
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- Marist is now 2-1 overall and 0-1 in the MAAC.
- Tonight marked Canisius' season opener.
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- The Red Foxes & Golden Griffins close out their two-game series on Saturday night in Buffalo.
- Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be carried live on ESPN3.