Sophomore guard Justin Menard scored a career-high 30 points to lead Marist men’s basketball to a pivotal 84-70 road win over Manhattan. The win made Marist head coach John Dunne the all-time wins leader in MAAC Conference history with 266.
Menard shot 10-for-14 from the field while graduate student guard Rhyjon Blackwell contributed 22 points of his own. After shooting below 40% from the field in each game of their three-game losing streak entering play, the Red Foxes shot 55.2% in the win.
Despite the strong performance, the win came at a cost for the Red Foxes. Just four games after losing senior guard Elijah Lewis for the season with a knee injury, redshirt sophomore center Jason Schofield exited with a knee injury of his own in the opening minutes. He appeared to bang knees with a Manhattan player and, after holding his knee on the ground and being assisted by the training staff, gingerly walked off the court; he did not return to the game.
The first half featured highly competitive play highlighted by 11 lead changes. Each team traded blows heading into halftime, but Marist pulled away in the second despite a season-high 29 points from graduate student guard Terrance Jones.
With just two games remaining in the regular season, the win keeps Marist a game and a half ahead of both Fairfield and Mount St. Mary’s in the standings. Unless both of those teams pass Marist in the season’s final week, the Red Foxes will have a first-round bye in the MAAC Tournament.
The game began with hot shooting from both teams. By the first media timeout with 14:38 remaining, Manhattan led Marist 15-13; by that point, the Red Foxes were 3-for-3 from deep while the Jaspers were 3-for-5. Junior guard Jadin Collins-Roberts came out of the gate with some added aggression on the offensive end. Despite averaging just over six points per game, Collins-Roberts made three of his first five shots to pick up seven points before the 10 minute mark.
After their strong start from deep, Marist missed their next five 3-pointers while the teams went back and forth. A mid-range jumper from Blackwell and a transition dunk by sophomore forward Parby Kabamba gave the Red Foxes a brief three-point lead, but Manhattan responded and retook the lead following a steal and lay-up by Jones; the graduate student took 11 shots in the first half and led all scorers with 13 points at the break.
Despite going cold from deep, the Red Foxes shot 56.7% from the field in the first half and endured the back-and-forth scoring to lead 42-35 at the half; Blackwell hit a triple in the closing seconds to extend the lead and even Menard and Jones with 13 points apiece.
Marist extended their lead to 11 quickly in the second half behind a couple of 3-pointers from Kabamba and Menard. Then, with just under 15 minutes remaining, freshman center Jordan Gabriel gave the Red Foxes a 14-point lead with a 3-point play. Two minutes later, he cleaned up a Menard miss and found freshman forward Myles Parker for a slam to extend the lead to 16. Gabriel saw additional minutes following Schofield’s injury; Marist ruled him out for the remainder of the game at halftime.
Menard twice extended the Red Fox lead to 20 around the 11-minute mark, before the Jaspers briefly began to climb back. A 9-0 run capped by a Jones 3-pointer from the 9:22 mark to 7:17 brought Manhattan back within striking distance, but Blackwell responded with a couple of free throws and by drawing a charge to quell the run.
Leading by 13, Menard buried a long 3-pointer with 2:51 remaining to reach 30 points and effectively put the game to bed. Despite 16 points from Jones in the second half, Menard and Blackwell combined to prevent the Jaspers from ever putting together a threatening comeback.
Marist will return home for their final two games of the season. They face Sacred Heart on Sunday; tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
Edited by Mike Schiavone
Graphic and Photo by Xavier Angel
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