Rider freshman guard Flash Burton provided a performance emulating his name with a career-high 21 points where 17 came in the second half to upset a rolling Marist team at home 64-57 Saturday night.
The Red Foxes (13-3, 6-1 MAAC) struggled offensively all night; chief among them was sophomore guard Josh Pascarelli who shot 6-21 from the field. He finished with 17 points and junior guard Elijah Lewis added 13. The loss against Rider (7-11, 3-4 MAAC) snaps Marist’s nine-game win streak and hands them their first home loss.
“All good things must come to an end. Clearly, there’s things we need to get better at. Overall we’ve put ourselves in a pretty good position,” said Marist head coach John Dunne.
Rider threw multiple defensive looks at the Red Foxes; head coach Kevin Bagget mixed in a two-three matchup zone and switched aggressively one through four or one through five. The Broncs made Marist earn their baskets for the most part, but the Red Foxes also failed to convert on looks they’ve cashed most of this season.
“Both halves [Rider] had great energy. First half I don’t think we got tons of open looks. But the second half we had a ton of open looks that normally go down. They just didn’t go down. We did not reward ourselves when we got to the paint today,” said Dunne.
Two of Rider’s veterans, graduate guard TJ Weeks Jr and graduate forward Tariq Ingraham, added 13 points apiece and Ingraham recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 10 rebounds. The Broncs made 21 field goals on just three assists, winning multiple individual matchups and making isolated shots.
Rider struggled from the field too, though, finishing 35% overall. They separated from Marist at the free throw line, making 18-23 and putting two Marist starters in foul trouble in the second half.
“We had a couple of bad fouls. Rider’s also a super physical team and they are so paint-dominant. We had some silly reaches that we have to fix moving forward if we want to win close games,” said Dunne.
With less than three minutes remaining and Marist pushing to tie the game, Burton scored seven straight points, including a dagger 3-pointer from the right wing.
In an even start to the first half, junior forward Trace Salton entered the game and immediately provided a push for Marist. He scored twice, blocked a shot and hustled after rebounds.
Weeks Jr scored eight of the first 12 Bronc points with three-level scoring. A 9-0 run pushed Rider ahead 16-13 while holding Marist without points for three minutes.
“They junk it up. They do a 2-2-1 pressure, 1-2-2 press back to 2-3. The 2-3 starts matching with cutters and turns into man-to-man. It became a drive-and-kick game. You got to have an ability to get some cutting,” said Dunne.
A zone defense from the Broncs on a few possessions gave Marist some problems in the first half. The Red Foxes have rarely faced zone this season and struggled to find their footing.
Rider forced a timeout with a Weeks Jr transition 3-pointer for a seven-point lead with 55 seconds left in the first half, leading all scorers with 11. Marist’s leading scorer Pascarelli shot 3-11 and 0-5 from three in the half, missing shots he’s put down all season. The Red Foxes overall shot 10-32 to trail 29-22 at the break.
“Most of Josh Pascarelli’s shots were really good looks. I will live with that every night,” said Dunne.
To begin the second half, Marist still could not buy a bucket. Rider, to their credit, made life difficult and forced the Red Foxes into winning one-on-one matchups and attempting tough shots.
Two free throws from redshirt senior forward Jay Alvarez gave Rider a 10-point lead. Alvarez corralled a massive 15 rebounds in the game, limiting Marist from second-chance opportunities.
With Marist in desperate need of a spark, Pascarelli again drilled a step-back 3-pointer to start a run. Redshirt freshman center Jason Schofield followed with a hook shot to force a Rider timeout with their lead dwindled to three.
Out of the timeout, Schofield crashed the boards and slammed down an offensive rebound then dimed Lewis for a corner 3-pointer to give Marist a two-point lead. Rider did not score in four minutes and quickly lost the lead they worked so hard to have with 11:36 remaining.
“Scho’s an amazing player, strong kid. When he’s hitting that gives us all energy,” said Lewis.
The Broncs immediately answered with a 6-0 run in 34 seconds. Burton displayed his skill with several strong scores off of ball screens. Then, his 3-pointer put Rider back ahead by four.
Rider held that four-point lead for a large stretch of the second half with Marist again missing several consecutive shots while the Broncs converted from the line.
Burton again made a big play with a steal and slam, pushing Rider’s lead to six with 2:23 left. He then set a career-high in points with a heat-check 3-pointer. Tonight is his second straight double-digit game within the Broncs’ three-game win streak.
“He did not settle, he got into the paint. He had his pull-up game going. I wish I hit him with a trap or two just to try to keep him off balance,” said Dunne.
The Red Foxes had their worst shooting night this season, and still put themselves in a position to win at different points in the second half. Tonight the ball did not bounce their way, resulting in a tough home loss.
Marist next heads on the road for the Buffalo sweep beginning with Niagara on Thursday, January 23. Tipoff at the Gallagher Center is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Edited by: Aidan Lavin
Photo Credit: Caitlin Bombassei
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