ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey – The Marist men's basketball team faces Iona for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship tonight. The 11^th-seeded Red Foxes and top-seeded Gaels tip off at 7:30 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.
 

How to Follow

• Dean Darling and Steve Eggink will have the call on the Red Fox Network and Varsity Network app starting at 7:15.
• Steve Lenox and Tim Welsh will have the call on ESPNU.
• Follow @MaristMBB for in-game updates on Twitter.  

 

Top Trends

• Marist is playing in its first MAAC championship game. This is the first time the Red Foxes have been in a conference championship game since the Red Foxes made the Northeast Conference final exactly 31 years ago today, an 85-81 loss at Robert Morris.
• Marist is seeking its third NCAA Tournament appearance all-time. The Red Foxes' previous appearances came in 1986 and 1987, which were the sophomore and junior years of Rik Smits.
• Marist is the first #11 seed to advance to a MAAC Championship game.
• The lowest seed to win a MAAC championship was Iona (9) in 2021. The only time in MAAC history that the lowest seed won the championship was Fairfield (8) in 1997.
• Marist is the fifth team in the last five MAAC finals that has come out of the opening round to reach the championship game (Fairfield, #6, 2018; Monmouth, #6, 2019; Iona, #9, 2021; and Fairfield, #7, 2021).
• Marist has not trailed in the MAAC Championships. The Red Foxes have outscored their foes 28-7 in the first six minutes of their three games.
• This is Marist's third three-game winning streak of the season. The Red Foxes have not had a four-game winning streak this season.
• Marist head coach John Dunne holds the MAAC record for most wins by a head coach as a lower seed in the conference championships with eight. This is Dunne's second appearance in a MAAC championship game following his victory over Iona in 2011. Dunne is also the second coach in conference history to bring two teams to a MAAC final, following Jimmy Patsos (won championship with Loyola in 2012, lost in final with Siena in 2017).
• Marist had four double-digit scorers against Saint Peter's on Friday. The Red Foxes have had this occur only three times this season, but all have occurred in the team's last six games.
• Patrick Gardner has led Marist in scoring in 25 of 32 games, including 19 of the last 20. The Red Foxes are 8-6 when he gets to 20 points (and 5-2 with 25+, 1-0 with 30+).
• In the MAAC Championships, Marist has held the opposition to .188 (15-for-80) shooting from three-point range. In its wins this season, Marist has held the opposition to a .260 (81-for-311) mark from deep. In losses, Marist opponents have shot .422 (159-for-377) from three-point range.
• Marist is shooting .418 (64-for-153) from three-point range in its last seven. In their wins this season, the Red Foxes are shooting .379 (107-for-282) from three-point range. The mark is .301 (141-for-469) in the team's losses.

  

vs. Iona

  
This Season: Iona swept the 2022-23 regular season series. The first meeting was the only time this season the Red Foxes dropped a game by more than 20 points. In the second meeting, Iona's 93 points were the most scored against the Red Foxes this season.
 
First Meeting: Iona 84, Marist 57 - January 6, 2023
Despite playing without MAAC Player of the Year Walter Clayton Jr., Iona prevailed by 27 and never trailed. Daniss Jenkins had game highs of 23 points and 10 assists (against zero turnovers), and Nelly Junior Joseph also had a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Cruz Davis added 16 points, and Osborn Shema had 12. Iona shot .554 from the field. For Marist, Patrick Gardner was the lone double-digit scorer, with 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field. He tied for the team high with four rebounds and had a team-best three assists.
 
Second Meeting: Iona 93, Marist 74 - March 2, 2023
Iona led wire-to-wire, as Nelly Junior Joseph had 27 points and 11 rebounds, while Daniss Jenkins had 21 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds. Walter Clayton Jr. had 18, and Osborn Shema had 11. Marist also had four double digit scorers. Kam Farris led the Red Foxes with 17, while Noah Harris, Javon Cooley, and Patrick Gardner had 14 apiece. Marist shot 12-for-28 (.429) from three-point range, tying a season high for three-pointers made.
 
Season Series Notes: Patrick Gardner led Marist in scoring (15.0 ppg). He shot .500 (12-for-24) from the field, .375 (3-for-8) from three-point range, and .429 (3-for-7) from the free-throw line. ... Kam Farris (11.0 ppg) and Noah Harris (10.5 ppg) also averaged in double figures. Farris shot .429 (3-for-7) from three in the two games, while Harris shot .462 (6-for-13). ... Marist shot .412 from the field, .360 from three-point range, and .633 from the free-throw line and never led in either game. ... For Iona, Nelly Junior Joseph averaged 23.0 points and 11.5 rebounds. He shot .679 (19-for-28) from the field. ... Daniss Jenkins averaged 22.0 points, 10.0 assists, and 6.0 rebounds per game, and had a 20-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. ... As a team, Iona shot .522 from the field, .412 from three, and .826 from the line. The Gaels had a +10.5 rebounding margin. They had 45 assists on 72 field goals and a 45-to-13 assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
Championship History: Marist and Iona met in the championships in three of the Red Foxes' first four years in the conference: 1998 (Iona win, quarterfinals), 1999 (Marist win, quarterfinals), and 2001 (Iona win, semifinals). They also met in 2006 (Iona win, semifinals), 2009 (Marist win, opening round), and 2012 (Iona win, quarterfinals). The teams have not met in the MAAC Championships since 2012.