On Thursday night, Marist men’s basketball opened its game against Merrimack 8-for-16 from the field and led 20-10 with 12:25 to go in the first; they looked as if they were set to at least play the first-place Warriors closely in their first game without senior guard Elijah Lewis following a season-ending knee injury.
From that point on, Merrimack outscored the Red Foxes 71-36 en route to a convincing win in an energetic Lawler Arena. Four Warriors players scored in double-figures while freshman guard Kevair Kennedy, the presumptive favorite for MAAC Conference Rookie of the Year, contributed 22 points, seven assists, four steals and four rebounds.
The loss dropped Marist to 1-5 against the top five teams in the MAAC and provided a taste of the challenge they will face the rest of the season without Lewis, their second-leading scorer and a key part of their MAAC-best defense. Senior guard Martin Kawa and redshirt freshman guard Ricky McKenzie both saw increased minutes with Lewis out; they combined to shoot 1-for-8 from the floor.
Redshirt sophomore center Jason Schofield and senior forward Jaden Daughtry — who did not start the last two games due to an illness — both notched their first double-doubles of the season in the loss. However, Marist shot just 36% from the field overall and 30% following their 8-for-16 start as Merrimack dominated on both ends for the majority of the game.
Despite being without Lewis, the Red Foxes got off to a very efficient start from the field. They made four of their first five shots as they attacked the rim against the Merrimack zone; Daughtry converted a long alley-oop pass from junior guard Jadin Collins-Roberts while Schofield converted a couple of times near the basket.
The Warriors’ zone gave the Red Foxes fits when they faced off on Jan. 19, but Marist attacked it aggressively in the early going. They found success near the rim and managed to make even when the Warriors forced the ball to the perimeter; after graduate student guard Rhyjon Blackwell had a reverse layup blocked, the ball ended up back in his hands and he immediately found freshman forward Myles Parker for a triple as the shot-clock wound down.
Marist went on a 10-0 run en route to their 20-10 lead. After a triple from junior guard Ernest Shelton broke the run, Daughtry again responded with an emphatic put-back slam.
Following the second media timeout, Merrimack’s defense began to tighten.
Marist did not score from 11:40 to 8:02 and began to struggle to get the ball inside; they also endured a stretch of three consecutive turnovers. At the same time, the Warriors’ offense found their footing.
Merrimack pulled within one with just under three minutes remaining in the first by way of a 3-pointer from graduate student guard Andrés Marrero; he had eight first half points and converted two triples. One possession later, Schofield brought in a defensive rebound only to have it stripped by Kennedy en route to a lead-taking lay-in by junior forward KC Ugwuakazi.
The Red Foxes finished the half on a 2-for-11 skid and committed each of their eight first half turnovers in the final 10:20 before the break. Over that same stretch, Merrimack shot 7-for-14 from the field, highlighted by a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Tye Dorset in the final seconds to go ahead by five.
Aside from a repeat of the Collins-Roberts to Daughtry alley-oop one minute into the second half, the Warriors pulled away. They opened the half on a 9-2 run including five points from junior forward Todd Brogna.
With 13:49 remaining, Shelton extended Merrimack’s lead to its largest of the night with a 3-pointer. Then, Marrero immediately stole the ball back following the Marist inbound before Kennedy found Dorset for a 3-point play to go ahead by 16. Blackwell responded with a triple, but Dorset immediately hit back with a highly contested 3-pointer of his own.
Tensions appeared to flare for Marist with 12:04 to go; Kennedy drove to the basket and rose at the rim when Blackwell reached in and pulled his arms away as he was in the air. Kennedy caught himself before he hit the deck, and following a media timeout, the officials tagged Blackwell with a flagrant foul.
Merrimack’s lead swelled to 20 following another Kennedy bucket with 11:17 to go. A large chunk of Marist’s offense the rest of the way came from Schofield’s scoring and rebounding around the basket, but they only got as close as 13 in the final 13:49 of the game while the Warriors ended the game on a 12-3 run.
Marist will face another quality opponent in third-place Siena at home on Sunday. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
Edited by Mike Schiavone
Photo by Quinn DiFiore
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