Marist men’s basketball (1-1) did the unthinkable, winning a buy game against a high-profile opponent. The Red Foxes defeated the defending Atlantic-10 regular season champs, the University of Richmond Spiders, 79-72 on their home floor.
The duo of senior center Jackson Price and sophomore guard Josh Pascarelli poured in 20+ points each, combining for 11 of Marist’s 14 three-pointers. Senior guard DeLonnie Hunt was just one of two Spiders to score in double figures with a career-high 27 points.
“I challenged [Jackson] this week, but we knew we wanted to get him threes early. They were icing our side ball screens and we felt pretty good if he started hitting some threes, we’re going to gain some confidence,” said Marist head coach John Dunne.
The Red Foxes responded in a big way after a season-opening loss to Harvard five days ago. The win is one of Marist’s biggest non-conference wins in recent memory, revealing the direction this program is heading.
“We did not play well at Harvard; we weren’t focused. We didn’t give enough effort, this was a challenging week, said Dunne. “We have a long way to go but I do think that this game should give the guys confidence that if they have urgency and they lock into game plan discipline, we have a chance to do some special things.”
Richmond went 15-1 at home last season and has won 11 straight non-conference home games dating back to November of 2022. Marist ended that tonight.
Richmond (1-1) scored 72 points but not efficiently, as they finished the game 39% from the field. Their saving grace was 24 points from the foul line when they drew several Marist fouls in the first half. The Spiders attempted just seven free throws in the second half compared to 24 in the first.
Richmond won a share of the Atlantic-10 regular season title behind a 15-3 conference record and co-Player of the Year Jordan King’s unbelievable season, earning a spot in the NIT after an early exit in the Atlantic-10 tournament.
The last time these teams met was in 2007, and tonight was Marist’s first game against an A-10 opponent since 2016.
Price nailed two three-pointers to begin the game, matching his output last game in less than two minutes. Marist racked up four team fouls before the first media timeout, including a foul on graduate guard B. Artis White while attempting a three-point shot.
The Spiders scored their first 11 points from the free-throw line, starting 0-3 with three turnovers. Richmond settled on defense and made life difficult for Marist, who scored just once in four minutes.
Sophomore guard Mikkel Tyne scored Richmond’s first bucket with a three-pointer. The score gave the Spiders their first lead of 14-12 with 11:46 left in the first half. Tyne nailed another out of the timeout, but Pascarelli responded with two from deep.
Because of the Red Foxes’ foul trouble, Dunne called a 2-3 zone to slow the fouling, a rare occurrence from a Dunne team. The space allowed Richmond to spray three-pointers and establish a rhythm on offense.
The Spiders scored on six straight field goal attempts to open a 37-28 lead with 6:03 left in the first half. Sophomore guard Jadin Collins-Roberts was called for his third foul and had to sit for the rest of the first half. Junior guard Caleb Mackrey spelled him with six points in the first half.
An 8-0 Marist run condensed that deficit to one and Price reached 15 points, all from behind the arc. Thanks to that late surge, the Red Foxes trailed by three at halftime, 44-41.
Marist scored the first six points of the second half to regain their lead. With the crowd quiet for much of the opening seven minutes of the second half, Hunt completed a three-point play to tie the game at 50.
Hunt scored once more to give the Spiders a two-point lead and get the crowd involved. Marist junior guard Martin Kawa silenced that crowd with a corner three. Price followed him with another three-pointer after Hunt scored his seventh Richmond point in a row.
“Once I saw one go in, a few more started dropping and it was over from there the rest of the game,” said Price.
The game began to tighten up with the score knotted at 56, with 10:15 left in the second half. Hunt was up to 21 points after scoring nine in a row for Richmond.
Marist worked a 9-0 run while holding Richmond scoreless for over four minutes. Of course, Hunt was the player who gave Richmond life, driving to the paint to break a Richmond drought as they trailed 67-61 with under four minutes remaining.
Junior forward Apostolos Roumoglou hit another three-pointer late in the shot clock to bring the Spiders within three points with 2:40 left. With the game teetering on the edge, Pascarelli nailed a key three with just over a minute remaining to put Marist up five.
“I was just waiting, had my hands ready. Me and Jadin made eye contact. He gave me the ball and I let it fly,” said Pascarelli.
Roumoglou sent a shot into the stands but was called for a technical foul after the fact, a crucial mistake with under a minute left and Pascarelli knocked down both free throws to put Marist up seven.
Richmond brought the game to within three points twice in the final minute, but Marist held on with big free throws from junior guard Elijah Lewis, who finished with nine points.
“We need Elijah to be good for us. Ice water in the veins to make those free throws,” said Dunne.
Marist created deserved buzz with this win and foreshadowed the success this team can potentially have this season. A showing like this in the second game of the year goes a long way to providing confidence. The Red Foxes spoiled an opportunity for Richmond head coach Chris Mooney to reach 350 wins at Richmond.
The Red Foxes turn to their home opener against Army on Friday, Nov. 15. Tipoff at McCann Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Edited by Jaylen Rizzo
Photo and Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
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