With only nine players dressed, Marist men’s basketball put in their best performance of the season with five players scoring in double figures and scoring a season-high 83 points. The Red Foxes also turned in a vintage defensive effort, forcing 15 Rider (5-12 overall, 2-4 MAAC) turnovers to win 83-60.
“The ball moved better today than it moved in a while, we shared it, and we were selfless. I was concerned if we would have the appropriate energy on a Sunday afternoon. We had a really good team effort,” said Marist head coach John Dunne.
Sophomore center Max Allen and freshman guard Josh Pascarelli each finished with 20 points or more as the Red Foxes (8-6 overall, 3-2 MAAC) snapped their four-game losing streak. Rider senior forward and MAAC Preseason Player of the Year Mervin James was held to a season-low eight points, his only single-digit scoring game this season.
Coming into Poughkeepsie, Rider won two straight MAAC games, including a double-digit victory over Manhattan on Friday night. James leads the Broncs squad averaging 20 points per game, the highest in the MAAC.
The Red Foxes faced a tough task as both junior forward Jackson Price and sophomore guard Isaiah Brickner missed with injury.
Marist started strong with both sophomore center Max Allen and freshman guard Josh Pascarelli inserting themselves on the offensive end. A layup from Pascarelli gave Marist an early 12-6 lead.
Allen used pretty footwork to grow the Red Foxes’ lead to eight. The big man was unguardable shooting 4-4 in the early going.
“I think [Max] is one of the best scoring bigs in the league. We want to play through him. As you saw late in the game, he was a willing passer too,” said Dunne.
Pascarelli followed Allen with a corner three to put Marist up 10. Sophomore forward Jaden Daughtry laced another three, punishing the zone defense Rider utilized. With 7:47 left in the first half, Marist led 27-16.
The two keys for Marist were limiting James and rebounding on their end. With 2:28 left in the half, James was 3-8 and the Red Foxes were plus four on the glass. Daughtry and sophomore forward Trace Salton made every touch and basket difficult for James.
Rider closed the half on a four-minute scoring drought and Marist scored the last five points to take a 15-point lead into halftime, 39-24. The Red Foxes tied their most points in the first half since November 25th against Bucknell.
Allen and Pascarelli poured in 14 and 13 each for Marist and James added eight points along with graduate student guard T.J Weeks Jr to lead the Broncs. The Red Foxes shot 45 percent from the field and 4-10 from three while Rider knocked in only one three-pointer.
“When you make shots you want to play better defense because you’re all hyped up. All of that happening at the same helps us get in a flow and win the game,” said Pascarelli.
Preseason All-MAAC first-team guard Allen Powell opened the second half with a quick five points for Rider. Senior guard Corey McKeithan knocked in a contested three to cut the deficit into single digits.
After graduate student forward Javon Cooley missed the alley-oop slam, Powell drained another three in the corner, adding to the Broncs’ hot 3-3 second-half start from behind the arc.
Marist forced a timeout with an 11-3 run where senior guard Kam Farris made a three-pointer to push the Red Foxes’ lead back to 15 with 14:24 left in the second half.
Despite Rider shooting an effective 66 percent from the field, Marist maintained their lead by taking care of the ball: the Red Foxes had committed just three turnovers with 10 minutes left in the game.
Daughtry banked in his second three-pointer to open a 20-point lead with time running out for Rider to make a comeback. Rider head coach Kevin Baggett put some of his younger players on the floor, and they were attacking the rim and drawing fouls.
“Daughtry was really good today. His intensity was phenomenal on the defensive end and the backboard. I thought he was really under control on offense and he had a good all-around game,” said Dunne.
A 7-0 one-minute run was capped by Powell who reached double digits in the second half with a transition three to force a Marist timeout, leading 63-50. Pascarelli scored his second basket of the half with an and-one bucket to halt the Broncs’ momentum.
Rider scored only eight points in the final eight minutes where Marist pulled away to win convincingly. The Red Foxes averaged 57 points during their losing streak, and they turned the offense around to become 6-1 when three or more players scored 10 points.
Along with Allen and Pascarelli’s 20-point performances, freshman guard Jadin Collins continued his strong play with 14 points and three steals. Daughtry and Cooley both added 10 to propel Marist to a big-time win.
“We’ve been needing to bounce back for a minute. Four losses in a row were tough. We just practiced hard and we stuck to our principles,” said Pascarelli.
The road struggles for Rider continued, moving to 1-10 away from home this season, and are now 0-7 when they score under 70 points.
Marist heads back on the road to face Mount St. Marys on Friday, January 19th. Tipoff at Knott Arena in Emmitsburg, MD is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Edited by: Aidan Lavin
Photo Credit: Jaylen Rizzo
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