Marist looking to recreate Iona magic

Marist's most exhilarating game this season came against the Iona Gaels, and the two teams will meet in New Rochelle, N.Y. in part II of the series. Dejuan Goodwin capped off the first game with a fadeaway jumper with 1.4 seconds left to propel the Red Foxes to a 51-50 win.
A lot has changed since that game, however. Marist has only won two conference games (Saint Peter's, Niagara) since the thriller on Dec. 5. Plus, Iona rookie Scott Machado has matured into arguably the league's best rookie and power forward Gary Springer is fully healthy. He suffered an ankle injury in the two teams' first meeting in the McCann Center that appeared to be season-ending. Iona coach Kevin Willard said following the game that the Gaels would have to "learn to play without him for awhile."
Luckily for Iona, Springer recovered. The senior forward from Georgia leads the team in both scoring and rebounding. Springer averages 11.6 ppg and 6.6 rpg. Springer is the only Gael scoring in double-figures on the season.
Although Iona does not score much, the team leads the MAAC in defense. The Gaels only allow 63.8 ppg. Their defense impressed in the first game against Marist, allowing the Red Foxes to score only 51 points. That is the lowest output for Marist with a healthy squad. Marist scored less than 51 points three times, but played all those games without a full-strength David Devezin.
Marist enters the game at 7-17 and will be looking to break a six game winless streak. In order to do so, the Red Foxes will need contributions from players other than Ryan Schneider. Although Schneider is a MAAC leader in almost all major categories, he has not gotten much support recently. A lot of that is due to David Devezin's illness the past couple games. Kaylen Gregory has played the best basketball in his career recently but is buoyed by Devezin's presence. Outside of Schneider, Gregory, and Devezin, Marist has not found a consistent scoring threat. It's conceivable that the long season and demands of a short bench are taxing many of the players, including players like Dejuan Goodwin. Goodwin emerged as a lethal threat from beyond the arc but has tailed off considerably. After the Niagara win, Goodwin had ice on both of his knees and joked in the press conference about being tired. Maybe he and some of his teammates are running out of steam...