BUFFALO, New York – The Marist men's basketball team defeated Canisius, 56-52, in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game on Saturday night at the Koessler Athletic Center.
The Red Foxes took the lead for good on a three-point play by freshman guard
Hakim Byrd with 35.1 seconds to play.
- Marist scored the game's first four points, but Canisius answered with four in a row.
- From there, the Red Foxes built the game's largest lead, 17-7 at the 7:45 mark of the first half, on a basket by Tyler Saint-Furcy.
- The Golden Griffins then held the Red Foxes scoreless for 3:19, and took the lead thanks to an 11-0 run.
- Marist responded with a 7-0 run of its own, and two free throws by Raheim Sullivan in the waning seconds of the first half enabled the Red Foxes to take a 28-23 lead to the locker room.
- Marist's lead reached as large as nine twice early in the second half, but a three-pointer by Canisius' Armon Harried tied the score at 42 with 6:44 remaining.
- With Marist trailing by one with 1:10 remaining, Matt Herasme kept a play alive by swopping in for an offensive rebound. He was fouled and hit two free throws to put the Red Foxes up, 51-50.
- After Malek Green hit two free throws on Canisius' next possession, Byrd answered with his decisive three-point play. The Red Foxes got a stop on the Golden Griffins' ensuing trip down the floor, and Herasme's two free throws with 13.4 seconds to play sealed the victory.
- Byrd and Jordan Jones led Marist with 10 points apiece, and seven Red Foxes scored at least five points.
- Jones and Herasme grabbed a team-high seven boards, with Braden Bell adding six.
- For Canisius, Majesty Brandon had game highs of 21 points and five steals. Malek Green had a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
- Marist held Canisius to .296 shooting (16-for-54) from the field, a night after the Golden Griffins shot .552 (32-for-58).
- Marist held a 40-33 advantage in rebounds.
- Marist led for 30:07 (75.3 percent of game time).
- Marist went 7-for-7 from the free-throw line in the final 2:40.
- Marist is now 14-for-14 from the free-throw line in the final two minutes of regulation and overtime periods this season.
- Marist is 3-0 in games decided by five points or fewer after going 2-9 in those games last season.
- Marist is 3-2 on trips to western New York under head coach John Dunne. Marist had gone 3-17 on western New York trips in the 10 years prior to his arrival.
- Marist's 3-1 record is its best mark after four games since the 2006-07 season.
- In Coach Dunne's tenure at Marist, the Red Foxes have won two games when having fewer than three double-digit scorers. Both have come at the Koessler Athletic Center, tonight and in 2019.
- Marist is 3-1 overall, and 1-1 in the MAAC.
- Canisius is 1-1 on the season and 1-1 in MAAC play.
"Really proud of the guys for coming back today with a great focus after dropping the first one," head coach
John Dunne said. "We watched a ton of film today, and think we cleaned up a lot of things."
- Marist returns to action at Manhattan for two games on Saturday, Dec. 19 and Sunday, Dec. 20.
- Tip-off both days is set for 2 p.m.
