POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist men's basketball team was defeated by Niagara, 86-72, at McCann Arena on Saturday afternoon in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game.
The Purple Eagles salvaged a split in the two-game series after the Red Foxes were victorious on Friday.
- Marist scored the game's first five points on a jumper by Jordan Jones and a three-pointer by Javon Cooley.
- A three-pointer by Ricardo Wright gave Marist an 11-5 lead at the 16:04 mark.
- Niagara took its first lead thanks to a 20-0 run over a span of 5:46, which included three three-pointers by Nick MacDonald.
- Niagara's lead reached its largest margin of the first half, 17, at the 6:15 mark on MacDonald's fifth three-pointer.
- Niagara took a 51-37 lead to the locker room.
- The Purple Eagles took their largest lead of the game on a three-pointer by Raheem Solomon with 17:10 to play, which put Niagara up 58-39.
- Marist cut its deficit to seven twice, but Niagara maintained a double-digit lead throughout the final three minutes.
- Wright led three double-digit Marist scorers with 19 points, 16 of which came in the first half. Jones had 17 on 8-for-9 shooting, and Javon Cooley had 15 as he shot 4-for-6 from three-point range.
- Jones led Marist in rebounds (six) and blocked shots (four).
- Raheim Sullivan had five assists against just one turnover.
- Marist shot .529 (27-for-51) from the field and .423 (11-for-26) from three-point range.
- Niagara's Marcus Hammond led all scorers with 23. He placed five Purple Eagles who scored in double figures, a list that also included MacDonald (15), Solomon (14), Kobi Nwandu (13), and Justin Roberts (11).
- Solomon grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.
- Niagara hit 10 three-pointers in the first half and 14 in the game.
- The Purple Eagles committed just four turnovers.
- Jones set a career high with four assists. His four blocked shots tied a career high, and were his most at Marist.
- Wright's 19 points were a career high.
- Cooley's point total was a career high as he made his first collegiate start.
- This is Marist's first loss on the second day of a back-to-back this season (3-1).
- Niagara is now 4-4 overall and 3-3 in conference.
- Marist is 6-2 on the season and 4-2 in the MAAC. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Red Foxes.
- Marist returns to action with a two-game series next weekend at Monmouth.
- The Red Foxes and Hawks will play on Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. in West Long Branch, New Jersey.