In a cagey, cold McCann Arena on Friday evening, Marist men’s basketball did just enough to defeat Mount St. Mary’s 53-50 in another nail-biter on their home floor.
Both teams shot 40 percent or worse from the floor and looked tired as the second half waned. The Red Foxes (5-2, 1-0 MAAC) however, battled against a strong frontcourt, holding the Mount (5-3, 0-1 MAAC) without a field goal for the last 4:37 of the game to stay undefeated at home.
“I thought our defense showed up, played with a good amount of energy. We found a way to win,” said Marist head coach John Dunne.
Sophomore guard Josh Pascarelli and senior forward Jackson Price scored 13 and 11 points respectively. Mount St. Mary’s leading scorer, sophomore guard Dallas Hobbes, was held to 4-17 shooting, including a miss in the final 10 seconds with a chance to tie the game.
“We talked about it all week, this is one of the toughest teams we’ve faced. So we had the mentality to come in and play a tough game,” said Price.
Marist welcomed the Mount, entering with the best overall team record in the MAAC Conference of 5-2, their best start since becoming a Division I program in 1988. The Mount swept Marist last season in two dominant wins.
Although the Mount has a new coaching staff and lost their two best players, the returners have stepped into new roles and are producing to begin the season. Their havoc defense that presses after every made basket gave Marist all sorts of problems, racking up 17 turnovers.
“Today was one of those games where we weren’t going to complain too much about the turnovers. We just needed to have the mental strength and go to the next play,” said Dunne.
The Red Foxes started strong from three, knocking down three of their first four from distance. The Mount countered with a zone-man hybrid to change the look.
Marist kept their lead throughout the first half but played at the pace Mount was looking for, playing frenetically with quick shots and turnovers due to ball pressure. Mount scored 14 of their first 18 points in the paint; with 6:52 left in the first half, Marist led by two.
Pascarelli matched Mount’s physical play with aggressive drives to the paint and scoring off two feet. He scored 13 points in the first half, going 5-8 from two-point range.
The Mount took a lead after a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Carmelo Pacheco and a Marist turnover in the backcourt gifting a Mount layup. Pascarelli hit his first 3-pointer with nine seconds left to give Marist a 31-29 lead at halftime.
“They were very aggressive, so there was going to be some gaps. I made the shots I needed to in the first half,” said Pascarelli.
The Red Foxes played as well as one could expect when facing Mount’s press for the first time. They committed six turnovers, which isn’t alarming, but the quick out-of-rhythm shots rewarded Mount for their ball pressure. Marist broke away multiple times, but some lapses late in the first half allowed Mount to close the distance.
Sophomore guard Jadin Collins-Roberts scored five straight points to open up Marist’s lead to eight, their largest of the night through 25 minutes. His seven points in the second half gave the Red Foxes the boost they needed.
The Mount responded, turning up the pressure and forcing two turnovers in the Marist backcourt. A three-minute Red Foxes drought ensued with MSM’s bench being the loudest group in the arena.
“They hit you with different kinds of pressures. We have to learn how to play against pressure with some vision. We played with the ball too much in the backcourt,” said Dunne.
That drought ended with a tough bucket by freshman forward Tarik Watson, temporarily relieving the mounting pressure. Watson scored three more points to give Marist some juice down low.
A corner three-pointer by Pacheco gave Mount a one-point lead with the Red Foxes scoreless for over two minutes. Marist racked up nine turnovers in the second half with 5:50 left in the game.
Price completed a massive three-point play to put Marist back up two. With both teams not scoring for several minutes with less than two minutes left, a single bucket could fully tilt the game toward one team.
“It was coming down to the wire, I knew that we needed a big play. I read it off the rim and thank the lord I was able to get that rebound and and-one,” said Price.
With 48 seconds left, Marist broke the press, finishing a dunk on the other end to lead by four points. A 7-0 run over the last 3:48 lifted the Red Foxes to the finish.
The risk of playing four guards against a big lineup paid off in the second half, not getting burned in the paint and keeping enough ball handlers in the game to get through Mount’s relentless pressure.
A crucial turnover by junior forward Jaden Daughtry gave the Mount a chance to tie or take a lead with 10 seconds left trailing 53-50. Marist finished the game with a solid defensive stop to come away with the win and start MAAC play 1-0.
The Red Foxes head downstate to face Manhattan in another MAAC game on Sunday, Dec. 8. Tipoff at Draddy Gymnasium is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Edited by: Aidan Lavin
Photo Credit: Jaylen Rizzo
Graphic: Gavin Hard
