POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist men's basketball team opens play in the 2022 Hercules Tires Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship on Tuesday night in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The sixth-seeded Red Foxes will take on 11
th-seeded Quinnipiac at 9 p.m. at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.
- The winner of the Marist-Quinnipiac game will face third-seeded Siena on Thursday at 7 p.m.
- The winner of that contest will advance to the semifinal round on Friday at 8:30 p.m.
- Saturday's championship game is set for 4 p.m.
- Dean Darling (play-by-play) and Steve Eggink (analyst) will have the call on the Red Fox Network and Varsity Network app 15 minutes prior to each game.
- Follow @MaristMBB for in-game Twitter updates.
- The opening and quarterfinal rounds will be carried on ESPN+. The semifinal round will be on ESPN+ and ESPNews. The championship game will be on ESPNU.
- Marist is 8-11 all-time against Quinnipiac, with a 4-4 mark in John Dunne's tenure as head coach.
- Marist is 1-0 against Quinnipiac all-time in MAAC championship play. As the #11 seed, the Red Foxes defeated #6 Quinnipiac in the opening round in 2015 by a score of 80-74:
- Chavaughn Lewis had 26 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, four steals, and four blocks.
- Khallid Hart shot 7-for-7 from the field, and finished with 18 points.
- Marist shot 13-for-19 from three-point range.
- Ousmane Drame had 27 points and 23 rebounds for Quinnipiac, which led in rebounds 49-25.
- This game was Marist's last victory in MAAC Championship play.
- The teams split the season series this year, which each side winning at home.
- Quinnipiac scored 56 points in the first half. The Bobcats led by 21 at halftime, and by as much as 23 in the second half.
- Marist got within one with 3:31 to go, but was unable to tie or take the lead.
- Noah Harris scored a career-high 24 points, which included seven three-pointers. He was one of Red Foxes to score in double digits. Jao Ituka had 13, Ricardo Wright had 13, and Matt Herasme had 12.
- Five Bobcats scored in double figures, led by Matt Balanc with 20.
- Marist shot 17-for-34 (.500) from three-point range; Quinnipiac shot 14-for-27 (.519).
- Raheim Sullivan led Marist with 12 points, but seven Red Foxes had at least five points.
- Marist shot 15-for-26 (.577) from three-point range; Quinnipiac was 12-for-31 (.387).
- Dezi Jones led four Quinnipiac scorers in double digits with 16.
- Marist erased a six-point second-half deficit, and took the lead for good on a Jao Ituka three with 2:51 remaining. Ituka was held to five points, but had a career-high six assists.
- Marist's 17 and 15 threes made against the Bobcats were their two highest totals of the regular season. The Red Foxes were 32-for-60 (.533) from three-point range against Quinnipiac.
- Noah Harris (16.0 ppg) was Marist's leading scorer against Quinnipiac. Harris shot .579 (11-for-19) from the field and .600 (9-for-15) from three-point range.
- Jordan Jones shot .778 (7-for-9) in the two games, and averaged 8.5 points.
- Marist's all-time record in the MAAC Championship is 11-24. The Red Foxes have never won more than one game in a MAAC championship. Here is the Red Foxes' history by opponent:
- Canisius: 3-3. Last meeting: 2017 opening round (Canisius, 77-73).
- Fairfield: 1-2. Last meeting: 2018 opening round (Fairfield, 71-57).
- Iona: 2-4. Last meeting: 2012 quarterfinals (Iona, 87-63).
- Manhattan: 0-2. Last meeting: 2016 opening round (Manhattan, 81-63).
- Monmouth: 0-0. Can only meet this season in the championship game.
- Niagara: 2-5. Last meeting: 2021 quarterfinals (Niagara, 67-62).
- Quinnipiac: 1-0. Last meeting: 2015 opening round (Marist, 80-74).
- Rider: 1-1. Last meeting: 2008 semifinals (Rider, 76-71).
- Saint Peter's: 1-1. Last meeting: 2019 opening round (Saint Peter's, 71-68, OT).
- Siena: 0-6. Last meeting: 2013 opening round (Siena, 70-64).
- Marist has not won a game in the MAAC Championship since 2015.
- By virtue of its opening-round bye, Marist last appeared in the quarterfinals last year.
- Marist last reached the MAAC semifinals in 2008.
- Marist last reached a conference championship game in 1992. That was in the Northeast Conference; Marist has never reached the MAAC championship game.
- Marist's last NCAA Tournament appearance was 1987.
- This is fifth time Marist has been the #6 seed in the MAAC Championship. The Red Foxes' all-time record as the sixth seed is 3-4.
- The four previous times Marist was the sixth seed came in 1999, 2003, 2008, and 2014. Marist won its first game in 1999, 2003, and 2008.
- This is the ninth year of the current MAAC Championship format with 11 teams. It is the sixth time Marist has appeared in 6 vs. 11 game. The Red Foxes were the #6 seed in 2014 (loss), and were #11 in 2015 (win), 2016 (loss), 2018 (loss), and 2020 (loss).
- The #6 seed has never won the MAAC championship, but reached the final in 2019 (Monmouth), 2018 (Fairfield), 2013 (Manhattan), and 1986 (Holy Cross).
- Marist started the season 2-4, with two losses by four points and two overtime games (1-1).
- From Dec. 5-22, Marist went 4-1, with three wins by at least 12 points. After defeating Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 22, the Red Foxes went over .500 for the first time this season (6-5).
- After resuming MAAC play on Jan. 2, the Red Foxes dropped three out of four, with the three losses coming by a combined total of 14 points.
- Marist defeated Monmouth 84-48 on Jan. 16. Following that game, Marist lost five straight, with four losses by seven points or less. After a 66-50 loss at Saint Peter's on Feb. 6, Marist sat in last place in the MAAC (3-9).
- Starting with an 83-58 win at Monmouth on Feb. 8, Marist won six straight. In three of the wins, Marist trailed by at least six in the second half.
- Marist then closed the regular season by getting swept in the western New York trip, falling to Canisius and Niagara by a combined total of 42 points.
- Jao Ituka was named Second Team All-MAAC and to the MAAC All-Rookie Team, and Ricardo Wright was named Third Team All-MAAC.
- Ituka became the first Red Fox to be named Second Team All-MAAC since Khallid Hart in 2016-17. He's the first freshman in program history to be named to one of the three All-MAAC teams.
- Ituka became the fourth Red Fox in the last three years to be named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team (2021 – Ricardo Wright, Hakim Byrd; 2020 – Tyler Sagl).
- This is the first time Marist has had multiple selections to the three All-MAAC teams since the 2012-13 season (Adam Kemp & Chavaughn Lewis, Third Team).
- Marist went 6-5 in its last 11 games. In the Red Foxes' six wins, they averaged 10.8 turnovers per game. They averaged 16.0 turnovers per game in their four losses.
- Marist is shooting .414 from three-point range in its wins this year, and .296 in its losses.
- Marist held 10 opponents under 40 percent shooting from the field (8-2 record in those games) this season, and four under 30 percent (4-0).
- In MAAC games, Marist finished second in the conference in free throw percentage (.773) and field goal percentage (.443), and was third in three-point percentage (.353).
- Marist went 7-2 this season when hitting nine or more three-pointers, and 7-13 when hitting eight or less.
- Marist was 7-2 when scoring at least 75 points this season, and 7-13 when scoring less than 75.
- Marist went 5-11 in games decided by seven points or less (3-8 in MAAC play). However, Marist won its last three MAAC games decided by seven points or less after starting 0-8 in these games.
- In games decided by eight points or more, the Red Foxes went 9-4 overall and 6-3 in MAAC play. Marist was 3-1 in games decided by 20 points or more.
- Marist is 10-3 this season when leading at halftime, 2-10 when trailing, and 2-2 when tied.
- Marist went 7-9 on the road this season. The seven wins marked the Red Foxes' highest total since the 2006-07 season (9-6).
