On the day in which they clinched a berth in the MAAC Tournament, Marist men’s basketball had their four-game winning streak snapped by Fairfield on Saturday in a 63-60 road loss.
Senior guard Elijah Lewis, who entered as Marist’s second-leading scorer at 12.4 points per game, departed with an injury in the second half. Lewis appeared to hurt his right knee; he was on the ground and appeared to be in serious pain for several minutes before being helped off the floor without putting any pressure on his right leg.
The Red Foxes were also largely without senior forward Jaden Daughtry for the second straight game; he missed Thursday’s win against Rider with an illness and played just two minutes against the Stags.
Marist trailed by 10 points multiple times throughout the game but nearly came all the way back over the final four minutes. A clutch 3-pointer by sophomore forward Parby Kabamba brought them within one, but Fairfield senior guard Braden Sparks converted two free throws immediately thereafter and graduate student guard Rhyjon Blackwell’s potential game-tying three crashed off the iron.
Fairfield freshman forward Brandon Benjamin, the only player in the MAAC to average a double-double so far this season, contributed 13 points and 12 rebounds while Sparks had 20 points en route to the win. Sophomore guard Justin Menard and junior guard Jadin Collins-Roberts led the way for Marist with 18 and 14 points respectively.
After holding Niagara and Rider to a combined 32.8% from the field in their previous two games, Marist’s defense began right where they left off. Fairfield missed each of their first five shots to allow the Red Foxes to build an early 5-0 lead.
The Stags then embarked on a 7-0 run over the next three minutes. Of their three baskets during the stretch, two came immediately following Red Fox turnovers. Fairfield’s run expanded to 12-2, allowing them to build a five point advantage before a Benjamin layup put them ahead 19-14 after being held scoreless for nearly the first five minutes.
Aside from Fairfield’s run, which they built more on the back of their defense, neither team shot the ball particularly well in the early going. With just over five minutes remaining in the first half, the Stags again scored off a Marist turnover on two consecutive possessions. The second came by way of a graduate student guard Deuce Turner 3-pointer following a Menard turnover; one of the Stags’ players appeared to kick the ball on the play, but the officials made no call before Turner converted from deep to give the Stags an eight point lead.
Marist’s offense often relies on a player becoming hot and leading the way; in the first half, Menard proved to be that leader. He scored nine of Marist’s first 18 points and had 11 points on 50% shooting before the break to keep the Red Foxes within three while Lewis and Blackwell failed to score in the half. Marist shot slightly more efficiently than Fairfield before the break, but 12 Stags points off six Red Fox turnovers and seven rebounds from Benjamin helped keep Fairfield in front.
The Stags made four of their first seven shots to begin the second half and built their first double-digit lead of the night; freshman guard Tony Williams and Sparks combined to make three triples in that span before a goaltending call against Kabamba counted another bucket for Fairfield.
Blackwell briefly shrunk the lead back to single digits with 15:03 to go with his first points. He drew a foul on a made jumper from just beyond the free-throw line to cut the lead to seven with a 3-point play.
Marist trailed by 10 again immediately following Lewis’ injury, but a couple of 3-pointers from Menard and Collins-Roberts as well as two more points apiece from Blackwell and freshman forward Myles Parker narrowed the deficit to four with 11:36 to go.
Once again, Fairfield built their lead back up to 10 behind Benjamin’s presence around the basket. Largely without Daughtry, who Marist head coach John Dunne has praised as his team’s best defender, the Stags shot 52.2% from the field in the second half while Benjamin and freshman guard/forward Declan Wucherpfennig found success around the rim.
Trailing 59-49 with just under four minutes remaining, Marist began to mount their comeback.
Free throws from Collins-Roberts and Menard and a score from Blackwell helped bring the Red Foxes back within four. With 53 seconds remaining, Collins-Roberts burst to the rack to slash the lead to two.
Wucherpfennig scored for the Stags on the other end, but Kabamba drilled a crucial 3-pointer off a dish from Menard with 15.6 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to one.
The Red Foxes turned to a full-court press and fouled Sparks; he converted both ends of a one-and-one to go up three. With 12 seconds remaining, Marist brought the ball up the court. Blackwell had a good look from deep but failed to convert, leading to Fairfield’s fifth win in their last six games.
Marist had a chance to pass Siena for third in the MAAC standings with a win, but instead remain in fourth place before they travel to first-place Merrimack on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Edited by Mike Schiavone
Graphic by Xavier Angel
Photo by Xavier Angel
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