The Red Foxes fell to 1-2 on the season Saturday night after a 58-41 loss to Fordham in the Bronx.
Marist struggled to find any offensive rhythm in the defeat, shooting just 27.5-percent from the field in the outing. The season’s leading scorers, Michael Cubbage and Matt Turner, combined for just 12 points and shot four-for-25 from the field in the loss. Tyler Sagl was a lone bright spot for the Marist offense. The freshman hit two of his four attempts from deep during his six-point performance.
“I thought we got some looks that we could have made,” said Marist head coach John Dunne. “We have to learn how to play through the physicality and make the looks when they are there for us. We’re just not at that point yet.”
A balanced attack from the Rams saw four players reach double figures in the victory. Chuba Ohams led the way for Fordham with 13 points. Antwan Portley contributed with 12 and both Jalen Cobb and Onyi Eyisi each pitched in with ten points. Eyisi was dominant on the glass, grabbing 15 rebounds for the Rams, giving him his first double double of the young season.
The Red Foxes entered the contest looking to bounce back from a home loss to Hartford on Tuesday. Fordham was just 5-17 in their previous 22 games entering tonight and finished in the basement of the Atlantic 10 a season ago. The Rams made it three-straight after their win over the Red Foxes, the first time they have started a season 3-0 since 1972. The two schools have met just twice in their history prior to tonight, the last time back in 1980. Jeff Neubauer’s squad was dominant on the defensive end as well, holding Marist to its lowest offensive output since December 7, 2014.
“Fordham is a good defensive team,” said Dunne. “They’re strong and they play really hard. They bring really good intensity.”
Marist found success in the first few minutes with their 2-3 zone until Fordham began to convert from the perimeter late in the first half. Once knotted at 17, a late 12-3 run from the Rams to end the first half put them up nine heading into the break. The Red Foxes shot just six-for-25 from the field in the first half.
“They hit a three against the zone and we went to man,” said Dunne. “They hit a couple threes late in the half against the man. I thought overall our zone was pretty good, they just got better movement when they were a little smaller.”
Marist was outrebounded 47-to-31 in a game where no Red Fox grabbed more than six rebounds. The team’s leading rebounder, junior forward Zion Tordoff, was limited to only 11, minutes after constant foul trouble, ultimately fouling out with eight minutes to play.
“We’re a very inexperienced team,” said Dunne. “We’ve got a long way to go with our growth.”
After Saturday’s loss, Marist has now failed to start a season 2-1 every year since 2007. John Dunne’s squad will look end its two-game skid as they take on The Citadel at the McCann Center next Saturday.
Edited by Lily Caffrey-Levine