Trailing by two points with eight seconds remaining, Marist men’s basketball had a chance to tie or take the lead against UMass Lowell. Freshman guard Dywane Chess inbounded the ball to sophomore center Jordan Gabriel, who looked to get the ball back in Chess’ hands.
In the midst of his second straight 20-point performance, UMass Lowell’s defense hounded Chess, forcing Gabriel to look towards the basket. He worked downhill but failed to convert a tough left-handed shot, solidifying a 63-61 Marist loss, its second in three games to open the season.
The Red Foxes shot 40.9% from deep in their first two games, but went just 3-for-11 against a UMass Lowell squad that held its first two opponents to a combined 21.1% from downtown. While the Red Foxes made 49% of their shots compared to the River Hawks’ 34.4%, they turned the ball over twice as much and couldn’t withstand 19 lead changes.
After bursting onto the scene with 20 points against UMBC on Thursday, Chess missed his first three shots and didn’t score for the first 18 minutes on Sunday. From there, the freshman went 7-for-9 from the field and added seven rebounds as he continues to establish himself as one of Marist’s go-to sources of offense.
Marist made just four of its first 14 shots, but hung around as UMass Lowell didn’t fare much better. The River Hawks made just six of their first 20, and a smooth pull-up jumper by Marist graduate student guard Jadin Collins-Roberts tied the game with 8:16 to go.
The Red Foxes went ahead briefly on a Collins-Roberts free throw, but the River Hawks then embarked on a 7-0 run to build a six-point lead. Sophomore forward Victor Okojie scored five points on the run, including a 3-pointer.
Chess picked up his first points of the afternoon with just under three minutes to go in the first half. He converted through contact with his right hand to begin a 3-point play, before Gabriel capped a 6-0 run to tie the game.
Including Gabriel’s make, the Red Foxes made their final four shots of the first half. The final two came from deep — one each from senior guard Jack Graham and Chess — after Marist made just one of its first five from beyond the arc.
Despite shooting just 33.3% from the field in the half, UMass Lowell made a pair of big shots to enter the break with a one point lead. Freshman guard Jasiah Cannady connected from deep and Okojie converted inside to counter Marist’s hot finish.
The River Hawks made just four of their first 11 shots to open the second half, but five made free throws in the first seven-plus minutes allowed them to maintain the one-point advantage despite Marist shooting 7-for-11 from the field over the same stretch.
Gabriel had a chance to put Marist in front with 12:11 to go, but missed a point-blank layup; Gabriel had 10 points, but shot just 4-for-12 from the field with most of his looks coming around the basket.
Graham — who finished with 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting — did manage to give the Red Foxes the lead on the ensuing possession with a nifty cut and score on an assist from Collins-Roberts. Then, Chess and freshman wing Logan Rodriguez teamed up on both ends of the floor; first, Chess put in a pretty left-handed shot off the class before Rodriguez swatted away a shot from freshman forward Elhadji Diallo on the other end. With the ball heading back up the court, Chess drilled a step-back mid-range jumper over his defender to go in front by three.
Despite exceptionally inefficient shooting, UMass Lowell continued to hang right with Marist, largely because of its ability to get to the line. In the second half, the River Hawks took 14 free throws to Marist’s six. Four of those Red Fox attempts came at the end of the game, and the even larger discrepancy throughout most of the half kept UMass Lowell right in the game.
Following the media timeout with 4:18 to go, UMass Lowell took advantage of Marist’s mistakes.
Chess and Collins-Roberts turned the ball over on consecutive possessions, which contributed to the River Hawks putting together a four-point lead with 2:33 to go. A pair of Chess free throws cut the lead in half, but Okojie responded with a score to re-extend the lead. Chess again knocked down two more on the following possession, but Marist couldn’t get him the ball on the game’s final play.
Marist returns to the floor at 7 p.m. on Friday for a road matchup with Lehigh.
Edited by Mike Schiavone
Graphic by Xavier Angel
Photo by Jaylen Rizzo
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