Marist looks to strike gold against Canisius

The Marist Red Foxes' men's team will play the second-end of a Marist basketball doubleheader that will be televised on ESPNU. The women's team (No. 20 in the nation) will play Fairfield prior to the men's game against Canisius.
Marist is facing a must-win game against a Canisius team that has one conference win to its name. The Golden Griffs enter the McCann Center with a 6-12 overall record and a 1-7 MAAC record. Marist sits at 3-5 in the conference and 7-13 overall.
After impressive efforts against Niagara and Siena, Marist laid an egg on the road against the Loyola Greyhounds. Marist surrendered 83 points in regulation to Loyola. Marist has played extremely well in the McCann Center thus far, compiling a 5-3 home record that includes wins over Niagara, Saint Peter's, and Iona. On the other hand, Canisius has struggled mightily on the road, tallying just two wins all season. Canisius is 2-8 away from its home floor.
Despite Canisius' poor record, the Golden Griffs boast three players scoring in double-figures. Junior guard Frank Turner remains the team's most consistent threat, averaging 14.3 ppg. The player that provides the biggest match-up problem, however, is center Chris Gadley. Gadley comes into the game averaging 11.2 ppg and 8.4 rpg. The center also measures in at 6-foot-9 and an astounding 320 pounds. Freshman Julius Coles also scores in double-digits with 11.3 ppg from the swingman position.
Although star guard Frank Turner's match-up with David Devezin remains intriguing, the one likely to give Marist the most trouble is Chris Gadley vs. the Marist bigmen. Asking starting forward Alex Vouyoukas against Gadley is a tough proposition for the 6-foot-9 rookie, but Lawrence Williams is much smaller. Expect to see sophomore forward Korey Bauer receive extra minutes in an attempt to slow down the Canisius big man.
Canisius' record may not look imposing, but the Golden Griffs blew out the fourth seeded Rider Broncs, 84-66, a team that Marist lost by 11 to. Marist must raise its energy level or else an upset is not out of the question. Marist head coach Chuck Martin stated that he was upset with his team's energy and emotion in the team's loss to Loyola.
Something worth watching over the next couple of weeks is Ryan Schneider's energy level. Martin has leaned on the senior captain all season, and it shows. Schneider leads the MAAC in minutes play with 37.8 mpg and has tallied multiple 40-minute efforts. It's easy to understand why Schneider is leaned on so heavily though. The 6-foot-7 Yorktown Heights product enters the game averaging 16.4 ppg and nine rpg, good for fourth and second, respectively. Schneider has also knocked down the most three-pointers in the MAAC with 54 and his 2.7 per game average is good for second behind Niagara's Tyrone Lewis.