The Red Foxes are addicted to unbelievable finishes to their games. In a clash of two of the top three MAAC teams, Marist men’s basketball (18-5, 11-3 MAAC) dodged another buzzer-beating loss, grinding out a 61-60 win over Merrimack Sunday afternoon.
With the Red Foxes trailing 60-58 with 2:15 left, freshman forward Tarik Watson scored the last three points of the game, including the game-winning layup with seven seconds left to push Marist over the top.
“He was tremendous. That was a great finish with the game on the line. He’s so strong and confident and had a lot of poise in the middle of the zone and in the high post,” said Marist head coach John Dunne.
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On the final possession, Warriors sophomore guard Adam “Budd” Clark got the ball stolen by junior forward Jaden Daughtry, but Daughtry then lost possession and the ball fell back into the hands of Clark. He lobbed it up to junior forward Bryan Etumnu, who scored at the rim as the buzzer sounded and Lawler Arena exploded.
Upon review, however, Etumnu did not get the shot off in time and Marist completed a weekend road sweep, with both games coming down to the final second.
“I’m just getting greyer by the second. We’ve been in close games all year,” said Dunne.
Marist led by one or two possessions for most of the second half until Clark woke up and began to take over, tallying 19 points, six assists and three steals. For the final eight minutes, both teams traded baskets and free throws in a cagey, nail-biting finish.
Merrimack (14-12, 11-4 MAAC) scored 35 second-half points but Marist matched that with 11-14 shooting from the line and dominating the glass in the second half (24-13 overall, 12 offensive rebounds).
The Warriors’ unique 2-3 zone held Marist to 40% shooting and 17 turnovers but could not cash in on offense, shooting 39% overall. There was little difference between the teams with 10 ties and 11 lead changes.
“Besides the turnovers, we played a pretty good poised offensive game. I was pleased with how we were attacking their zone. For the most part, we made Budd Clark work for everything he got,” said Dunne.
Sophomore guard Josh Pascarelli started 2-2 from three-point range in the first handful of possessions against the Merrimack zone.
The Warriors missed several open looks and did not make a field goal for six minutes, but Marist did not take advantage, leading 11-8 with 11:06 left in the first half.
The Red Foxes generated some layups with backdoor cuts off the wing but got stuck with turnovers working through Merrimack’s ball pressure. That led to a 6-0 Warriors run to take a 20-17 lead and force a Marist timeout.
Marist closed the half better to lead 26-25 at halftime. Merrimack shot 33% from the field and committed seven turnovers. The Red Foxes shot well but eight turnovers in a slow-paced game limited them from creating any lead.
Sophomore guard Jadin Collins-Roberts found spaces in the Merrimack defense to get the offense going in the second half, finishing with seven assists. An 8-0 Marist run opened a five-point lead before the first media timeout.
“He had great vision. [We] wanted to get behind the zone, get the ball to the high post. Get some good cutting going, we were trying to do a variety of different things,” said Dunne.
A four-point play by junior guard Martin Kawa gave Marist their largest lead of seven before the under-12 timeout. Junior guard Elijah Lewis got in the paint on multiple occasions to score or draw fouls; he led Marist with 13 points and nine rebounds.
The Warriors continued to hang around and converted on Marist’s turnovers to cut the deficit to one with 8:40 remaining.
Merrimack took their first lead in 11 minutes after a Clark 3-point play. Pascarelli answered with a deep 3-pointer to tie the game at 58 and finished with 12 points.
Collins-Roberts missed the front end of a one-and-one and Etumnu scored on the other end. Watson made one free throw and missed the other before Collins-Roberts got the rebound.
Pascarelli missed a 3-pointer and Merrimack called timeout ahead 60-59 with 33 seconds left with Marist scoring just once in the last three minutes.
Out of the timeout, Lewis blocked Clark’s shot before Daughtry found Watson in the paint to take the lead with seven seconds left.
“We were trying to get a little length on Clark. He’s such a physical driver and so good at putting his body into you. We did a good job of not fouling and making him make the play over us,” said Dunne.
Chaos ensued in the final seconds of the game. Daughtry initially stripped Clark, but Clark got it back and lobbed it to Etumnu who scored as time expired.
Merrimack stormed the court thinking they won the game but after review, Etumnu did not get his shot off in time and Marist snuck out of North Andover with a massive conference win.
The Red Foxes host both Buffalo schools next week, beginning with Canisius on Friday, February 21. Tipoff at McCann Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Edited by Michael Burns
Photo and Graphic Credit: Kira Crutcher
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