ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey – For the first time in 15 years, the Marist men's basketball team is in the semifinal round of the MAAC Championships. The 11^th-seeded Red Foxes will meet 10^th-seeded Saint Peter's at 8:30 Friday night at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.
 

How to Follow

• Dean Darling & Steve Eggink will have the call on the Red Fox Network and Varsity Network app starting at 8:15.
• Steve Lenox and Tim Welsh will have the call on ESPNEWS, which will be simulcast on ESPN+.
• Follow @MaristMBB on Twitter for in-game updates. 

 

Top Trends

 

• This is Marist's sixth MAAC semifinal appearance, and first since 2008. The previous ones occurred in 1999, 2001, 2006, and 2007.
• The Red Foxes have never reached a MAAC final since joining the conference in 1997. Marist's last tournament final game in the NEC in 1992. The Red Foxes last reached the NCAA Tournament in 1987.
• This marks the first time Marist has won two games in the MAAC Championships in its 26 years in the conference.
• Following Thursday's win over Quinnipiac, Marist head coach John Dunne set the MAAC record for most wins by a head coach as a lower seed in the conference championships with seven, surpassing Mitch Buonaguro's previous high of six (four at Fairfield, two at Siena). At Saint Peter's, Dunne won a semifinal (in a road game at Fairfield) and championship as a #4 seed in 2011, a quarterfinal as a #7 seed in 2015, and became the first #9 seed to reach a semifinal in 2018.
• Marist became the second straight #11 seed to advance to the MAAC semifinals, which had never previously happened in conference history.
• Marist's 16-point margin of victory was its second largest in the MAAC Championships in program history. The Red Foxes had an 87-63 victory over Canisius in the 2007 quarterfinal round.
• Isaiah Brickner set career highs for points (21), three-pointers (five, in six attempts), and blocked shots (two) against Quinnipiac. Brickner had the first 20-point game of his career. He had made 14 threes in 50 attempts this season prior to Thursday night's game. Brickner also had six rebounds and six assists. The Red Foxes are 5-0 when Brickner has at least five assists in a game.
• Patrick Gardner led Marist with 22 points against Quinnipiac. Gardner has scored at least 20 in three straight games, and 14 this season. The Red Foxes are 8-6 when he gets to 20 points (and 5-2 with 25+, 1-0 with 30+). Gardner also set a season high with five blocked shots against Quinnipiac.
• Marist held Quinnipiac to 7-for-27 (.259) shooting from three-point range. In their wins this season, the Red Foxes have held the opposition to .270 (77-for-285) shooting from three-point range, incluing a .204 (11-for-54) mark in their two games in the MAAC Championships. In their losses, Marist opponents have shot .422 (159-for-377) from three-point range.
• Marist shot 10-for-24 (.417) from three-point range against Quinnipiac. The Red Foxes are shooting .423 (58-for-137) from deep in their last six games.
• In its wins this season, Marist is shooting .380 (101-for-266) from three-point range. In their losses, the Red Foxes are shooting .301 (141-for-469) from beyond the arc.
• Marist has led wire-to-wire in both of its wins in the MAAC Championships this year.
• Marist's 24-point lead against Quinnipiac tied its largest of the season. The Red Foxes also led by 24 in a win at Manhattan on Feb. 24.

 

vs. Saint Peter's

This Season: Saint Peter's swept the 2022-23 regular season series. The Peacocks snapped a three-game Marist winning streak with a 61-57 victory in Poughkeepsie on Jan. 20. Saint Peter's then earned a 67-56 win at Run Baby Run Arena on Feb. 10.
 
First Meeting: Saint Peter's 61, Marist 57 - January 20, 2023
The game included nine ties and nine lead changes, and was tied at 22 at halftime. Marist had a game-high lead of eight with 8:19 remaining, only to see Saint Peter's tie the game with an 8-0 run. With the score tied at 57, Isiah Dasher's jumper with 15 seconds left gave Saint Peter's the lead for good. He then iced the game with two free throws in the closing seconds. Dasher, who went 8-for-10 from the line, scored 16 points and tied teammate Mouhamed Sow for the game high. Dasher also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Patrick Gardner and Noah Harris scored 15 points apiece to lead Marist.
 
Second Meeting: Saint Peter's 67, Marist 56 - February 10, 2023
Saint Peter's led wire-to-wire, and its biggest advantage was 16 with 12:39 left to play. Marist closed its deficit to four with 4:46 remaining, but was unable to draw any closer. Kyle Cardaci led Saint Peter's with 16 points, including three three-pointers, in 18 minutes off the bench. Patrick Gardner scored a game-high 17 points to lead Marist, and also led the Red Foxes in rebounds (nine), assists (five), steals (two), and blocked shots (two).
 
Season Series Notes: Patrick Gardner led Marist in scoring (16.0 ppg), rebounding (7.0 rpg), assists (4.0 apg), blocked shots (2.0 bpg), and steals (1.5 spg) in the two games against Saint Peter's. Gardner was the lone Red Fox to average in double figures in scoring. He shot .379 (11-for-29) from the field, .250 (2-for-8) from three-point range, and .667 (8-for-12) from the free-throw line. ... As a team, Marist shot .333 from the field, .289 from three-point range, and .773 from the free-throw line. Marist's 22 free throws made and 28 free throws attempted against Saint Peter's on Jan. 20 are both season highs. ... Stephane Ingo did not play in the first meeting, and played five minutes in the second game. ... For Saint Peter's, Kyle Cardaci did not play in the first game. ... Isiah Dasher averaged 13.0 points and a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game. ... The Peacocks shot .345 from the field, .244 from three, and .735 (49 attempts) from the line.
 
Championship History: This is the third meeting between Marist and Saint Peter's in MAAC Championships history. The two previous ones both came in opening round 8-9 games with Marist as the #8 seed. The first came on March 2, 2012, when the Red Foxes earned a 64-57 victory in Springfield, Massachusetts. The second came on March 7, 2019, when Saint Peter's prevailed by a score of 71-68 in overtime in Albany, New York.