Sometimes all a team needs is a strong second half.
After a first-half slugfest in which the Red Foxes posted 28 sluggish points on 11-for-35 from the field, a 48-point second-half eruption saw them run away with the game as they defeated the Black Knights at home, 76-65.
In the first half, Marist shot an abysmal 1-for-15 from beyond the arc, recovering in the subsequent half with a 4-of-9 mark from three.
Freshman forward Myles Parker was the spark plug that Marist needed: after starting the game 1-for-6 with a pair of airballs, the freshman forward could not miss in the second half, ending the game with a career-high 17 points.
“I’m a shooter on this team and I take pride in that, so I just have to keep telling myself ‘Keep shooting, keep shooting.’” said Parker of his bounce-back half.
“When you’re a shooter, it does not matter. You have to forget about it. You have to stay confident. He was a big spurt for us,” added head coach John Dunne.
Parker highlighted a 42-24 bench points advantage for the Red Foxes, showing their depth as four players finished with double digits. Outside of shotmaking struggles, Marist played a clean offensive game, notching 16 assists and tying their season low of just nine turnovers.
“We’re not even shooting the ball well yet!” laughed Dunne. “I still think there is room for improvement in us making better decisions, but for the most part, I thought we were super unselfish.”
Once again, the Marist defense remained physical and guarded well, adding another game to their streak of opponent field goal percentage ending under 40 percent.
Junior guard Ryan Curry led the Black Knights with 16 points, but shot just 2-of-10 from distance; Overall, Army was just 7-of-32 from three—the category they typically gap opposing teams in.
By the second media timeout, both teams shot a combined 7-for-26 from the field as their offenses struggled to find rhythm in the half-court. Marist led in offensive rebounds 7-2, but failed to score even on their extra shots.
Marist and Army generated plenty of open catch-and-shoot opportunities from distance, but rarely converted.
At the half, neither team was above 20 percent from outside the arc—Army led in three-point makes with three, but shot 3-for-19. The Red Foxes fared even worse, notching a season-low 6.7 percent; their lone make came from senior forward Trace Salton in the tenth minute.
Marist recorded a field goal percentage below 40 percent in the first half, their third time struggling early on offense this season.
Somehow the Red Foxes held a six-point lead, once again backed by their strong defense, holding the Black Knights to 24 percent from the field, Marist’s season-low in opposing field goal percentage for a half.
Despite their shared struggles on offense in the initial half, the teams came out aggressive. After Army knotted the game at 30, three straight makes from Marist—capitalized by a transition tomahawk jam from Parker, forced an Army timeout.
Attempting to put real distance between themselves and the battling Black Knights, Marist ripped off a string of impressive plays. Back-to-back threes from graduate student guard Rhyjon Blackwell, followed by an impressive and-one from Parker gave Marist their largest lead of seven.
Parker caught fire and continued to lead the way for the Red Foxes, connecting on consecutive three-pointers and extending the advantage to 55-46. The forward poured in 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting through nine minutes of second-half action.
With momentum fully secured amid a 13-2 run, the Red Foxes continued to bulldoze the Black Knight defense in any way they wanted as Marist maintained a 17-point cushion with four minutes remaining in the contest.
When it mattered most, Army could not buy a bucket, swamped in a four-minute field goal drought.
From there, a two-handed jam from Lewis highlighted the smooth sailing that Marist kept as they picked up their second win of their six-game homestand.
Lehigh comes to town on Tuesday for the fourth game Marist will play in the den, with tipoff set for 7 p.m.
Edited by Mike Schiavone
Photo by Xavier Angel
For more coverage of Marist athletics, follow @cfmarist on Instagram, X, TikTok and Bluesky, and sign up to receive daily alerts here.