Marist men’s basketball defeated Quinnipiac in a heavyweight conference play fight in McCann Arena on Sunday afternoon 69-62. The Red Foxes (11-2, 4-0 MAAC) led by as many as 20 points in the second half but the Bobcats (7-8, 3-1 MAAC) kept fighting and made several runs in the second half.
“It was far from perfect down the stretch but we played with enough poise to close it out. Overall we were locked into scouting reports and personnel. We put a good effort together on the defensive end,” said Marist head coach John Dunne.
The win extends Marist streak to seven, the longest since the 2006-07 season and the best start since 1995-96. A perfect 4-0 MAAC record is the first since 2000-01 and today is Marist’s eighth straight home win dating back to last season. This marquee matchup between the two teams picked at the top of the MAAC preseason poll saw both teams enter today with undefeated conference records.
Sophomore guard Josh Pascarelli answered each of Quinnipiac’s runs all on his own with 15 second-half points (7-8 FG) to finish with 20 points and a career-high eight rebounds. Junior guard Elijah Lewis followed with 19 points and two other Red Foxes scored 10 points.
“There was a big focus on their center; shoutout to our centers for blocking him out. I just happened to clean it up and they did their job so I got to do mine,” said Pascarelli.
“The beautiful thing about our group is that we’re selfless and if Josh is hot we’re going to keep going back to him. We were getting him open and once Josh gets that confidence, he becomes pretty dangerous,” said Dunne.
The Bobcats scored 43 points in the second half after a poor opening 20 minutes offensively, cutting the Marist lead to as little as five. The Red Foxes held on with free throws, many of which came from Lewis, the MAAC leader in free throw percentage.
Marist locked down on the defensive end, holding the Bobcats to 37% shooting and 15 turnovers. Preseason MAAC Player of the Year, junior forward Amarri Monroe, scored 15 points on an inefficient 6-17 shooting and four turnovers. A Newburgh, NY native, Monroe had a solid contingent in the crowd who made their presence known in the second half when Quinnipiac closed the distance.
Junior forward Jaden Daughtry was Monroe’s primary assignment on defense, finishing the game with seven rebounds, three blocks and three steals, doing the dirty work required to win conference games.
“You got to stay in front and be patient on certain moves [when guarding Monroe]. We were locked in from the get-go. We knew they were going to throw it to their big man or drive it a lot,” said Daughtry.
Marist stumbled out of the gate offensively, turning the ball over three times and starting 0-4 from the field. Senior forward Jackson Price broke the ice after three minutes with a 3-pointer. Quinnipiac’s active hands wreaked havoc in the opening eight minutes, recording seven steals.
Monroe scored seven points in that span, adding three steals. Marist started 3-12 from the field but trailed by just five at the under-12 timeout.
Quinnipiac failed to score for over eight minutes and Marist took their first lead thanks to a Lewis jumper. Pascarelli followed with a 3-pointer, pushing Marist’s lead to four as the Bobcats fell out of rhythm.
The Red Foxes continued to stretch their lead in a low-scoring first half with a 13-0 run over 9:42 until sophomore guard Khaden Bennett broke Quinnipiac’s long drought with a 3-pointer.
After that Bennett bucket, Marist closed the half on a 10-4 run to lead 30-19 at halftime behind two Lewis 3-pointers. The Red Foxes limited Quinnipiac to just two offensive rebounds and no second-chance points. Marist settled in on offense, assisting on nine of their 13 field goals and scoring 18 paint points.
To open the second half, Quinnipiac’s offensive woes continued with a four-plus minute scoring drought. Marist scored the first nine points of the half to blow the lead open to 20. After a QU timeout, graduate guard Savion Lewis scored their first points of the half after another steal.
The Bobcats found some offense, scoring on six straight attempts. Senior forward Alexis Reyes’ 3-pointer cut the deficit to 11, forcing a Marist timeout at the 11:11 mark of the second half.
Reyes scored again to bring the game within single-digits and the Quinnipiac corner of the crowd stood on their feet. The Bobcats tried a five-out offense to get back into the game but Pascarelli countered with numerous buckets to reach 20 points with four minutes to go.
“That kid is talented. One thing I love about him is that he will keep on shooting. He won’t give in to fatigue or missed shots. He’s that guy,” said sophomore guard Jadin Collins-Roberts of his backcourt mate Pascarelli.
Quinnipiac kept battling and a 7-0 run in 54 seconds capped by another Bennett 3-pointer cut the deficit to six. Marist did not score a field goal in three minutes, opening the door for the Bobcats in the final minutes.
Bennett nailed three 3-pointers in the second half, taking over point guard duties and reaching 14 points. The charity stripe proved pivotal as Marist converted 10 free throws in the final three minutes, keeping their lead and taking sole possession of first place in the MAAC.
“We took our foot off the pedal a little bit. We have to improve when we get up 20 not to take the foot off the pedal. We talked in the locker room about not relaxing mentally this week because we don’t play until next Sunday,” said Dunne.
The Red Foxes get a week’s rest before their next game against Fairfield on Sunday, Jan 12. Tipoff at McCann Arena is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Edited by: Aidan Lavin
Photo Credit: Jaylen Rizzo
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