Marist falls in season opener

A sluggish start to the second half sent Marist packing with an opening loss at Rutgers.
Rutgers jumped out to a 16 point lead midway through the second half, but a persistent Marist team clawed back and ultimately fell, 74-67.
Although things looked bleak at times, Chuck Martin has to be thrilled with the performance of freshman Rob Johnson. He has great length and excellent athleticism. He translated those attributes into a game-high 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
Daye Kaba notched a double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Korey Bauer pitched in and made a case for significant minutes even when Casiem Drummond returns. Bauer's contributions could keep him in the starting lineup when Drummond becomes available. Bauer gives Martin multiple lineup options depending on if he wants to play big or small.
Bauer scored 11 points and hauled in seven rebounds despite playing an oversized Big East frontcourt.
As far as the freshmen go, Sam Prescott scored 10 points and Candon Rusin chipped in nine. Prescott showed a nice ability to slash and get to the rim while Rusin obviously wants to play outside the arc.
Until Hall and Drummond enter the lineup, Marist will have its hands full in every game. The team isn't nearly as deep without those two and are forced to play Dejuan Goodwin at the point. Devin Price looked outmatched in his first game, which is to be expected. Goodwin's ability to play the point is a plus. Goodwin did a solid job running the point, but one question mark is his free-throw shooting. For a starting guard, 1-of-4 from the charity stripe won't cut it.
Other observations from the opener:
- Not having Menelik Watson will hurt for the first month. The decision to red-shirt him is an interesting one, but during Marist Madness, he seemed out of shape. He has great strength and is incredibly muscular, but he looked like he put on a lot of weight and wouldn't be able to handle the rigor of a full season. A bit surprising because he was so pumped to contribute to the team this season.
- Dorvell Carter only receiving four minutes of action is very surprising. He has good size at 6-foot-6 and can hit the outside shot. Since he's been with Martin a year, you'd think he'd make more of an impact early than a few of the freshmen. Regardless of his one three-point attempt, Marist will need him down the stretch.
- Javon Parris is really only a defensive stopper at this point. His offense remains what it was last season. He played seven minutes in the contest.
- Finally, Rob Johnson looked like an All-MAAC rookie player in the opener. The fact that he can successfully shoot the three and slash inside is a major plus. He can play the No. 3 or 4 spots, making him an asset for any opponent.

Marist opened the game with this lineup:
G Dejuan Goodwin
G Sam Prescott
G Daye Kaba
F Rob Johnson
F Korey Bauer

I'd expect that to remain constant, at least for the first few games. Marist returns to action Wednesday at Hartford. Hartford is a game Marist should win. The Red Foxes thoroughly outplayed Hartford last season in the BracketBuster game and Hartford lost its opener, 85-74, to Quinnipiac.