Marist spoiled Dartmouth’s home opener in a 75-56 victory, pulling away in the second half to complete a dominant game on both sides of the ball.
The Red Fox defense paved the way, holding the Big Green to 17-48 shooting and 3-20 from distance. They constantly disrupted the Dartmouth set offense, forcing 20 turnovers.
Marist’s offense looked surgical, carving up Dartmouth with inside-out basketball and playing at a fast pace when needed.
It was a balanced scoring effort; graduate student guard Rhyjon Blackwell led the team in points for the second time with 16, but eight Red Foxes scored six or more points en route to their 19-point victory.
Marist shot just five free throws, but their red-hot jump-shooting lifted them on offense. They shot 47 percent from the field and an acceptable 34.6 percent from three-point range.
Sophomore guard Justin Menard was everywhere for Marist, leading the team in rebounds (seven) and assists (eight), adding 10 points and five steals to his all-around stat line.
Despite their profound struggles from the field, sophomore guard Kareem Thomas kept the Big Green offense afloat with his continued aggression. His career-high 20 points came on 11-for-13 shooting from the free-throw line, the largest contributor to Dartmouth’s 28 total shots from the stripe.
Both centers, sophomore Tarik Watson and redshirt sophomore Jason Schofield, suited up for the Red Foxes after missing the season opener against Xavier. Sophomore forward Parby Kabamba remained the starter, with Schofield and Watson filling out the frontcourt rotation behind him.
Marist jumped out to a 16-7 lead through seven minutes of play, shooting an efficient 7-for-12 from the field, powered by their defense, which forced five turnovers. Senior guard Jadin Collins-Roberts spearheaded the effort, notching three steals in eight minutes.
The pace of play started to heat up midway through the first half, with both teams getting shots up early in the clock and running the floor; senior forward Jaden Daughtry finally gave the two units a break after bruising into the lane for an and-one.
Marist’s half-court offense continued to look comfortable, nine Red Foxes entered the scoring column through 14 minutes as they held a 26-20 lead.
Uncharacteristically, it was Marist’s accuracy from three-point range that kept them in front—the Red Foxes shot 5-for-10 from deep through 15 minutes. Freshman forward Myles Parker contributed two of those, scoring eight points in as many minutes.
Dartmouth never let Marist pull away, consistently generating paint touches and high-percentage shots, which kept them within striking distance, 31-27, as Marist started to cool off from distance.
After the Big Green forced a shot-clock violation, Blackwell checked in and elevated for a rhythm transition three. The spark plug led the team in first-half points with ten.
At the end of the first half, Menard found a cutting Blackwell for an easy layup — his sixth assist of the half — giving the Red Foxes their 40th point.
Marist’s pinpoint jump-shooting masked other shortcomings; they attempted just three free throws in the first half, all of them shot by Daughtry.
On the flip side, Dartmouth struggled from distance, just 3-for-12, but shot 10-11 from the stripe and led the rebounding battle 20-14, keeping them close as the Red Foxes led 40-35 at the break.
There, Marist’s defense set the tone, forcing a live-ball turnover, a shot-clock violation and a jump ball in the Big Green’s first three possessions.
The Red Foxes extended their advantage to ten on a Menard mini 5-0 run. The Iona transfer first pulled up from mid-range, then stepped it back behind the line on the next possession, toying with the ball-screen.
The Big Green continued to stave off Marist’s offense with their fearless aggression at the basket, forcing the Red Foxes into the bonus with 12 minutes to play; however, four straight missed free throws accentuated their 1-for-6 start to the half from the stripe.
Everything was coming from contact for Dartmouth. At the 7:51 mark, the Big Green entered the double bonus, but their last field goal came six minutes prior. Despite their absurd volume of second-half free throws, their offense could not sustain itself on the charity stripe alone.
Marist pulled away to its largest lead of seventeen on a pair of Blackwell free throws, leading 66-49 with four minutes to play. Dartmouth failed to muster any response, and Marist picked up its first win of the season, 75-56.
The Red Foxes will play their home opener on Wednesday, squaring off against a fellow Poughkeepsie school in Vassar. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Graphic by Quinn DiFiore
Photo by Marist Athletics
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