With Marist men’s basketball debuting their “Marist 87s” throwback uniforms Saturday evening, Iona spoiled the fun in a commanding 75-71 win inside a whiteout McCann Arena.
The dynamic guard duo of freshman Adam Njie Jr and Dejour Reaves poured in 20 and 24 points each in a quality showing of efficient shotmaking against Marist (16-5, 9-3 MAAC). The Gaels (11-13, 8-5 MAAC) shot 52% from the field and converted 17-20 free throws in the second half to win their last six of seven.
“They were a spirited group. They outplayed us. They were 65% from two-point range and we’ve been the best team in the league all year defending the two. Disappointed in the defensive effort,” said Marist head coach John Dunne.
Offensively, freshman forward Tarik Watson showed everyone what he’s made of tonight. In his second start, he led the Red Foxes with 16 points on 7-8 while their two big men senior Jackson Price and redshirt freshman Jason Schofield sat again due to injury.
“Tarik is able to have some success because he never put his head too far down earlier in the year when we were playing him spot minutes. He’s been extremely high character. He’s put himself in position to have success when we have two other guys in his position out,” said Dunne.
Marist scored 21 points off the bench, 13 of which came from junior forward Travis Roberts, his most points in a Marist uniform. The Red Foxes struggled to defend the paint all night, and their offensive output was washed away by Iona’s attack on the paint.
Sophomore guard Josh Pascarelli and junior guard Elijah Lewis did not play up to their standard tonight; Pascarelli was hounded off ball screens and was 3-9 before two late 3-point makes and Lewis dealt with illness this week according to Dunne and did not look like himself.
“I’m even surprised I played [Elijah] 22 minutes [Thursday night]. [Josh] is a marked man. He’s going to get trapped on ball screens, on handoffs at times. Tonight he did a really good job making the appropriate read, we were getting open looks. We just didn’t make enough,” said Dunne.
Marist worked a 12-2 run over a 5:44 span to open an eight-point lead midway through the first half. While the Red Foxes got stops defensively, multiple players took their offensive opportunities with confidence. Six Red Foxes scored at least once in the first 10 minutes of the half.
Iona responded with their energy lineup sparking some offense and raising the intensity on defense. Sophomore guard Comeh Emuobor scored five points and dove for a loose ball to create two more points, forcing a Marist timeout with 4:09 remaining in the half.
From there, Marist scored just twice and Iona closed the half on a 5-0 run, cutting the deficit to 31-29 at the break.
Iona turned up the heat to begin the second half, calling their full-court press to knock Marist off balance and create turnovers. The Gaels quickly took the lead and imprinted their identity on the game.
With Marist in need of energy, Roberts drilled two 3-pointers to calm the Iona momentum and reach 11 points. Still, Marist trailed 47-45 at the under-12 media timeout.
Iona continued picking up the pace and forced a Marist timeout after a 7-0 run. The guard duo of Njie Jr and Reaves steamed ahead, getting two feet in the paint or getting out on the fast break. Watson ended a 9-0 Iona run with two pick-and-roll finishes to steady Marist with 7:39 left.
“They lived in the paint on us today, unfortunately. We’ve been selective with our trapping and hard-hedging this year. I got to watch the film and determine if our drop coverage was that poor,” said Dunne.
The Red Foxes stalled on offense without a field goal for over four minutes but scored six points at the free throw line. The game slowed a little with both teams in the bonus, leaving Marist with a manageable deficit of five with 3:47 to go.
With time running out, Marist ran a full-court press attempting to flip the game on its head. Instead, Reaves nailed a corner 3-pointer with 45 seconds left, putting Iona up eight. From there, McCann attendants headed for the exits.
“The biggest thing this group needs to do is block out the noise. Stop worrying about what’s going on in the rest of the league. Stop worrying about what people are saying around us. It was a tough weekend, we have to respond well in our preparation,” said Dunne.
Pascarelli hit two tough 3-pointers late but Iona continued to make their free throws and iced the game for possibly their biggest win of the season. This is the first time Marist has lost two consecutive games this season.
Marist heads on the road next weekend first with Siena on Friday, February 14. Tipoff at MVP Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Edited by: Aidan Lavin
Graphic/Photo: Kira Crutcher
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