In their second straight game on ESPNU, Marist men’s basketball failed to close the game, missing four free throws in the final 18 seconds. With the door left open, Fairfield junior guard Deon Perry cashed the game-winner– a Sportscenter 60-foot prayer at the buzzer– giving the Stags (9-14, 5-7 MAAC) a crucial 59-56 win.
“We wanted [junior forward Jaden] Daughtry to not allow a long pass, keep the play in front of us. Clearly, we can execute defensively better, put a little more pressure on that shot,” said Marist head coach John Dunne.
Perry led all scorers with 19 points, 16 of which came in the second half to snap a three-game Fairfield skid and hand Marist (16-4, 9-2 MAAC) just their fourth loss of the season.
Tonight’s game epitomized the MAAC, the conference with the eighth-highest close-game percentage (decided by four points or less) in the country. Neither team led by more than five points and both teams struggled mightily on offense.
“I’m super proud of the fight we showed. We are going to get everybody’s best game, everybody’s best energy. There’s things you have to do better to finish off the game,” said Dunne.
Marist led 55-51 with 2:28 left after sophomore guard Jadin Collins-Roberts hit his second 3-pointer of the evening. From there, the Red Foxes scored just once, a free throw, while Fairfield scored eight, including Perry’s ridiculous shot at the buzzer.
The Stags shot 31% from the field but converted at the line, going 21-26. All six of Marist’s missed free throws came in the second half, vital scoring opportunities in a game where both teams could not buy a bucket.
“We’ve made a lot of big free throws all year long. You just have to step up with confidence and call on your technique. We didn’t make them tonight,” said Dunne.
Marist fought extremely hard in their first game of the season with real depth issues. Senior forward Jackson Price and redshirt freshman center Jason Schofield both missed the game due to injury.
The sizeable hole in the Marist frontcourt left freshman center Tarik Watson to make his first start this season where he tallied eight points, six rebounds and two blocks.
Behind Watson, freshman forward Parby Kabamba played center off the bench rather than his normal rotations at power forward. Junior forward Matt McCool made his first appearance of the season and scored four points.
Both teams found themselves in prolonged scoring droughts early in the first half. The half-court defense provided scrappy play and tough shots.
Freshman Isaac Munkadi impacted the game for Fairfield by blocking shots, rebounding and getting the Stags second chances when their offense struggled. His presence helped Fairfield complete an 8-0 run.
Marist stayed close despite the offensive woes, tying the game multiple times before junior forward Travis Roberts scored five straight to give the Red Foxes a 22-21 lead.
Fairfield had not made a shot in over four minutes, but converted from the free throw line on multiple possessions. The Stags then made three straight shots to open their largest lead of five with 1:23 left in the first half. Collins-Roberts scored the last five points to tie the game at 27 heading into the break.
To begin the second half, sophomore guard Josh Pascarelli scored the first 10 Marist points, climbing to 15 on the night. He did not score for the last 13:29 of the game and finished with 15 points and seven rebounds.
“They were keying on [Pascarelli], it’s not easy to just get one guy open so other guys got to make plays. I’d like for him to get a couple more touches down the stretch,” said Dunne.
Perry answered with nine of the Stags’ 15 points, nailing a wing 3-pointer after two offensive rebounds by Munkadi.
With both teams trading buckets, Fairfield scored a couple in a row and Marist called a timeout with 8:21 remaining. The Red Foxes regained the lead for the first time in nine minutes with two consecutive steals by Collins-Roberts and ensuing breakouts. Fairfield called timeout trailing 52-51 with 3:39 left.
During the timeout, the officials took a Marist bucket off the board after reviewing a goal tend. Watson quickly remedied that with a paint score. Collins-Roberts then drilled a huge 3-pointer with under 2:30 to go, capping a 7-0 run. He recorded 10 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
With Marist up three, Pascarelli missed a front-end and Perry converted his two shots on the other end. On the next possession, several stoppages and reviews resulted in Marist inbounding with one second on the shot clock. Watson missed but Fairfield missed on the other end with 18 seconds left with a chance to take the lead.
“I like the way Tarik played, [he] plays with toughness. Just has to continue to work on the stamina but he gave us some solid minutes and had a big bucket late,” said Dunne.
After Daughtry secured the rebound and was fouled, he missed the front end but was fouled again on the rebound, sending him back to the charity stripe.
He made only one free throw. Then Perry probed and found Smith for a layup, tying the game at 56 with eight seconds left. Collins-Roberts missed two free throws with the game in his hands after being fouled in the act of shooting and Fairfield called timeout.
“My heart goes out to him not making the free throws. But I’ll go to war with Jadin Collins-Roberts any day,” said Dunne.
With 1.1 on the clock, Perry received the inbounds, turned, took one dribble and sent a heave to the rim that swished in. Fairfield fans stormed the court in jubilation, securing an exhilarating win on national television.
“You can feel sorry for yourself on the bus ride. Then when you get off the bus you got to learn from our mistakes and have a spirited effort against Iona,” said Dunne.
Marist returns home to play Iona on Saturday, February 8. The Red Foxes debut their Marist 87 uniforms at McCann Arena at 7 p.m.
Edited by: Aidan Lavin
Graphic: Quinn DiFiore; Photo: Jaylen Rizzo
For more coverage of Marist athletics, follow @cfmarist on Instagram, X, TikTok, and Bluesky. Sign up to receive daily alerts here.
