Marist falls in overtime to Bucknell

Maris beat Bucknell in almost every statistical category except the one that truly matters, the final score.
Marist lost a heartbreaker, 70-67, in overtime to the Bucknell Bison. Marist dropped to 0-11 on the season.
Freshman Rob Johnson led all Marist scorers with 17 points and added eight rebounds. Korey Bauer responded with a spirited effort, notching a double-double. Bauer scored 13 points and hauled in 11 rebounds. He shot a perfect 5-of-5 from the field.
Devin Price continued his growth, starting over R.J. Hall and chipping in 13 points as well. Sam Prescott scored nine points off the bench while Daye Kaba, starting in his place, shot 2-of-10 and scored eight points.
Marist trailed, 68-67, with the final possession in overtime. With four seconds remaining, Kaba missed a jumper that would have given Marist the lead.
Kaba previously gave Marist the lead with a lay-up with 30 seconds remaining. Bucknell responded, however, as Mike Muscala buried a three-pointer with 20 seconds left.
Marist made it to overtime by virtue of a Candon Rusin lay-up late in regulation. Darryl Shazier failed to convert a three-pointer that would have won the game for the Bison.
Marist shot 47.8 percent from the field compared to Bucknell's 39.2 percent. Bucknell took advantage at the free-throw line though. The Bison made 20-of-27 free-throws while the Red Foxes went 13-of-18.
Mike Muscala led all scorers with 18 points.
Marist turned over their rebounding effort in the loss, outrebounding Bucknell, 30-28.
Marist returns to action Jan. 2 for a home game against MAAC foe Manhattan. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
Manhattan is 6-6 on the season and 1-1 in the conference. The Jaspers handled the Canisius Golden Griffs, 71-57, on the road. Darryl Crawford leads Manhattan in both points scored and rebounding. He averages 15.2 ppg and 6.9 rpg.

Marist can't hold lead in loss to Vermont

Marist held a 37-31 lead at halftime against Vermont, but a long cold-streak doomed the Red Foxes at McCann.
Marqus Blakely paced the Catamounts' offense with 23 points in 35 minutes of action in leading Vermont to a 72-62 win.
Vermont embarked on a 17-2 run in the second half as Marist struggled to find the basket. The Red Foxes scored seven points in 12 minutes after pouring in 37 in the first half.
Marist got as close as four points with 2:30 remaining in the game, but the Red Foxes could not cut the lead any further.
Freshman Candon Rusin led the Red Foxes with 16 points while Daye Kaba added 11 points. Rusin has proved to be a reliable scoring option for Marist despite the team's struggles.
Marist shot 37 percent from the field and went 8-of-24 from behind the three-point arc. Marist also got outrebounded, 44-18. Without Casiem Drummond and Menelik Watson, the rebounding problem will probably remain throughout the season.
Observations:
- Marist may want to consider going really small and simply outrunning teams. Putting Johnson at the No. 5 and playing an uptempo, Golden State Warriors-style offense may be the best solution. The rebounding can't get any more lopsided, can it?
- Dramatic shift in the free-throw shooting tonight. Going 14-of-18 from the line is pretty impressive given the early-season struggles.
- Candon Rusin could have a Will Whittington-type impact on this team. Remember that Jordan and Whittington had an abysmal freshmen year and wound up being Marist legends. Rusin is on the right path anyway.
- Rusin needs more than 22 minutes. He's the best shooter the team has, and with no inside presence, he needs more opportunities to shoot.
- Korey Bauer led the team with 32 minutes. Too big of a role for his type of game. He did go 6-of-6 from the line, however.

Marist unable to complete comeback

Marist put together an inspired second half against Lehigh tonight, but a low-scoring first half led to a hole that was too deep to come out of.
Lehigh led, 43-21, early in the second half, and although Marist chipped away, the Red Foxes fell, 66-55. Marist remains winless on the season.
The Red Foxes cut the lead to 54-50 but were unable to get any closer.
Nine Red Foxes scored but only Daye Kaba finished in double-digit scoring. Kaba scored 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting. He added four rebounds and two assists.
Marist outscored Lehigh, 36-33, in the second half but only managed 19 points in the first 20 minutes.
R.J. Hall tallied nine points and four assists in his second game back.
The team continues to struggle from the field. With no interior presence, most of Marist's shots are contested from the perimeter. As a team, the Red Foxes shot 35.7 percent. The four freshmen combined to shoot 9-of-28.
Almost half of Marist's field-goal attempts, 27-of-54, came from behind the three-point line. The team converted on nine of them.
Marist's next game will come after the holidays. Vermont will travel to the McCann Center for a 7:30 p.m. tilt.
Vermont is 7-5 and boasts a win over Rutgers. The Catamounts did, however, lose by 13 to Loyola.
Elsewhere in the MAAC
- Loyola jumped all over Indiana in the first half and handed the Hoosiers a 72-67 loss at home.
Brett Harvey led Loyola with 25 points and five assists, while Jamal Barney added 13 points.
- Rutgers blew out Saint Peter's, 66-42, as Mike Rosario scored a season-high 28 points. Hamady N'Diaye added 15 points and 10 blocks.
- Niagara notched a 77-71 win over Saint Bonaventure while Canisius edged Southern Mississippi, 59-56. Demetrius Williamson scored 22 points for Niagara and Canisius' Frank Turner poured in 30.

Drummond ruled ineligible

I predicted that Casiem Drummond would win MAAC player of the year next year, but a prerequisite for that award is getting on the floor.
The NCAA ruled that Drummond is not academically eligible to compete, The Poughkeepsie Journal reports.
The 6-foot-10 transfer from Villanova was supposed to change Marist's fortunes when he regained his eligibility. He served his year in residency but apparently did not keep up his grades.
This is a tough blow for a struggling Marist team that is already without freshman Menelik Watson, who is red-shirting this season after coming from England.
The Red Foxes will rely on Korey Bauer as their lone big man. At 6-foot-9, Bauer is the biggest player on Marist's roster.
This loss really hurts the freshmen on Chuck Martin's roster. Drummond would have drawn considerable attention away from the perimeter.
R.J. Hall returned after his ineligibility, but he has another perimeter player. Drummond would have shifted this team's dimensions and likely fortunes.

Binghamton embarrasses Marist

Marist suffered an inexcusable loss today to the lowly Binghamton Bearcats.
Greer Wright led the way with 22 points in 36 minutes as Binghamton won, 70-52.
The much-anticipated debut of Casiem Drummond also never happened. Issues still linger about his eligibility.
If Drummond isn't able to suit up in a Marist uniform, this season is a lost cause. The only positive so far is that the Red Foxes two conference losses have been respectable.
The offense has struggled mightily and they shot just 29.4 percent today. The Bearcats shot 57.4 percent, however.
It's hard to find where Marist will win games. Binghamton is a team that was in complete disarray in the offseason. Players were kicked off the team (six), the coach resigned, and they managed to scrap together a team. This group managed to dominate Chuck Martin's prized recruits in their own gym.
A few observations from today's loss:
- Nice to have R.J. Hall back, unfortunately he isn't a difference maker in terms of wins and losses.
- Sam Prescott and Devin Price combined to shoot 5-of-20, a stark contrast from the days of Jordan and Whittington. Give them time, sadly that doesn't provide relief in the short term.
- Something Chris Douglas-Roberts has said in several post-game interviews, the Nets suffer from a lack of defined roles. The same could be said of Marist. The team does not seem organized and there is no clear pattern to Martin's moves on and off the bench. Daye Kaba (11 points) seemed like he would be a leader in Marist Madness, yet he's coming off the bench. There is something to be said for rewarding rookies, but I don't think there is any leadership on this team.

Foxes fall in home opener

Marist has established a pattern in non-conference play. Go down big at the half and compete in the second half to no avail.
Boston University had its way with Marist on offense to the tune of an 88-72 win. The Red Foxes fall to 0-7.
Corey Lowe and John Holland posted 27 and 21 points, respectively. The Terriers scored 49 points in the first half, a number that will win a team any game.
Two good things came out of today's loss for Marist. 1) Three freshmen scored in double figures and shot well from the field, and 2) Casiem Drummond and R.J. Hall have not played yet. Drummond should have a profound impact on this team, completely changing how the Red Foxes compete. I truly believe he's a player that will win the MAAC player of the year award next season as a senior. Hall may not be a spectacular point guard, but he is consistent and has experience in the system. As a sophomore, he's already one of the veterans.
Back to the freshmen, Devin Price had an impressive showing with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting in 26 minutes. He's the future at the point-guard position, so it's a step in the right direction to finally have a solid offensive performance. Candon Rusin bounced back with a team-high 15 points and Rob Johnson poured in 13 points, albeit on 5-of-12 shooting.
Other observations:
- Surprised that Daye Kaba has not played a bigger role on this team to date. Coming in from the ACC, he should be leading this team in almost every way. He totaled seven points in 17 minutes. Interesting to see how his play changes when Drummond and Hall return.
- Another abysmal showing from the free-throw line. The only positive is that Boston actually shot worse. The two teams combined to shoot 23-46 from the line, while Marist shot 14-of-26. Games (see Siena last season) are won and lost by free-throw shooting, whether Martin shares Calipari's view on this aspect of the game or not.
- A team-high 26 minutes for Devin Price. The future of this team is dependent on his development as an elite point gaurd in the MAAC. A step in the right direction today.
- Eight days until Marist's next game with Drummond and Hall... Should be markedly different than the winless Foxes look now.

Red Foxes take Broncs to brink

Marist gave Rider everything it could handle in Lawrenceville, N.J. today.
Daye Kaba's missed jumper with four seconds remaining in regulation secured a 55-51 Rider victory. Kaba's jumper would have tied the game at 53.
Sam Prescott re-emerged on offense and Daye Kaba returned from illness to keep Marist in the game against one of the MAAC's elite.
Prescott had a team-high 14 points while Kaba scored 13.
Defensively, Marist held MAAC preseason player of the year Ryan Thompson to one point on 0-of-8 shooting. Although Marist remains winless, there is plenty to be thrilled about from this game. To basically take a team of rookies into Rider's gym and have a chance to win in the final minutes is enough to believe this team will be in good shape in both the short and long terms.
Marist's defense limited Rider to 31.1 percent from the field.
Marist managed just 15 points in the first half but responded in the second half with 36 points. The second half has been kind to Marist this season.
Although Prescott put in a positive offensive performance, the rest of the freshmen disappeared. To stay in the game with three impact freshmen scoring a combined five points is a good sign. Candon Rusin had an off night (1 point) and Rob Johnson went scoreless. Devin Price shot 1-of-7 from the field.
Chuck Martin may not believe in moral victories, but this was a hueg step in the right direction today. To compete without Casiem Drummond and R.J. Hall is a great sign and valuable experience that the young guys will need later in the conference schedule.

Marist loses late lead, game

Marist put forth its best effort of the young season, but a late scoreless stretch resulted in the Red Foxes' fifth straight loss.
Fairfield, entering the game at 4-2, used a 13-1 run in the last eight minutes of the game to win, 70-61.
After playing themselves out of several games earlier in the year, the Red Foxes were in position to win.
Marist led, 45-44, with a little more than eight minutes left in the game. The Red Foxes failed to score in the next 4:19, however.
Playing without red-shirt junior Daye Kaba, Dejuan Goodwin poured in a game-high 18 points. Rob Johnson and Candon Rusin scored 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Marist gave its fans something to be excited about with this performance. The next time the two teams meet in the McCann Center, Marist will likely have three different starters. Casiem Drummond, R.J. Hall, and Kaba should all start.
Chuck Martin sentenced Kaba to sixth man off the bench, but he's likely to get that spot back. Freshman Sam Prescott has struggled in his last two games, scoring two points and shooting 0-of-8 combined.
Rusin has thrived in the starting lineup though. He's scored in double figures in four straight games and poses a legitimate three-point threat.
The road doesn't get any easier for Marist. The Red Foxes travel to Rider for a 2 p.m. tilt on Sunday. Rider opened the season with a win over then-nationally ranked Mississippi State.