Marist men’s basketball wins their fifth straight behind a career performance from junior forward Jackson Price, finishing with 19 points in his first start of the season. The Red Foxes tied a season-high of 12 team three-pointers while dominating the University of Maryland Eastern-Shore 76-52.
“Proud of the guys today, they played with selfless effort. Happy for Jackson, he has not wavered in his confidence and showed today what he is capable of,” said head coach John Dunne.
Marist returned to action after a nine-day hiatus due to final exams. UMES also went through a long break, losing last time out to NC State on Dec. 6.
The long break did not affect Marist as Price drained a three on the Red Foxes’ first possession. UMES, however, struggled to score in the opening minutes, getting their first basket after four minutes went by in the contest, as Marist led 7-2 in the early going.
According to the broadcast, sophomore center Max Allen came off the bench due to illness and only saw seven total minutes; Price came out hot in Allen’s place scoring eight early points to put Marist ahead by double digits.
“It was up in the air all week [If Max would play], he has not been able to practice much this week. I knew that we would need more help offensively. Being able to space the floor and open driving lanes,” said Price of his performance.
The Shore Hawk’s pressure defense forced quick ball movement from Marist, who capitalized on the pressure to get easy looks, including two straight three-point makes from MAAC Rookie of the Week freshman guard Josh Pascarelli.
UMES could not gain any traction offensively, and Marist led 24-10 with 7:12 left in the first half with the Shore Hawks shooting 29 percent from the floor.
The Red Foxes extended their lead with a three-point barrage via junior guard Noah Harris knocking down two and Price adding one from deep.
Marist ended the half with a three-pointer by graduate student forward Javon Cooley to put themselves up by 20. The Red Foxes totaled 10 first-half assists on 14 made baskets, eight of them being from behind the arc. Freshman guard Jadin Collins accounted for half of those assists and Price tallied 11 points in the first half.
Meanwhile, the Shore Hawks did not muster any offense despite 12 of their 13 players getting first-half minutes shooting 7-27 overall and 0-7 from deep. The Red Foxes continued to showcase their stout defense that leads the MAAC in points allowed per game. UMES top scorer junior forward Troy Humstead was held to 1-3 shooting across 13 minutes.
Junior guard Tyler Mack hit the Shore Hawk’s first three-pointer of the game to open the second stanza and Hupstead followed with another to cut the deficit to 14.
UMES hung around as Marist’s offense cooled off, trailing by between 16 and 19 points but unable to close the gap. A ridiculous cross-court pass by Collins led to a three-pointer by sophomore guard Isaiah Brickner. Collin’s seventh assist led to Marist pushing ahead 60-39 with 7:47 remaining in the game.
“Jadin is very good in the open court with his vision and dribbling. He is going to accumulate assists with the way he finds guys and with his driving ability,” said Dunne.
Marist regained their offensive flow with Price climbing to a career-high 19 points and staying relentless defensively to pull away and win 76-52. Collins finished with a career-high nine assists in a pretty offensive display.
“Starts with the scouting report, the team [UMES] will help aggressively. Driving aggressively and passing to Jackson, Josh, and Isaiah who hit shots,” said Collins.
The Red Foxes improve to 5-0 when allowing 60 points or less and 4-1 when scoring 70 or more.
Marist now moves into the most anticipated non-conference game of their season against ACC program Notre Dame. Marist last played an ACC school in 2016 when they faced Duke.
The Red Foxes possess a clear recipe; play tight defense, rebound, slow the pace, and execute on offense. That defense has become a dependable facet of this team, and the more consistent the offense becomes, the more dangerous this team is.
“Our defense starts with not giving up easy baskets, starts in transition. We spend a lot of time having gameplan discipline. We have locked in on that despite being a young team,” said Dunne.
Tipoff in South Bend on Friday, Dec. 22 is set for 8 p.m.
“Make no mistake, we are trying to win the game. We will watch the film this week and tighten up some things on offense. Keep an emphasis on our defense and gameplan discipline,” said Dunne.
Edited by: Aidan Lavin
Graphic: Cara Lacey
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