Season ends in fitting fashion

Marist played its final home game of the season Friday night, and the loss to Saint Peter's was symbolic of the way the past 27 games have gone.
Saint Peter's exploded out of the gate, burying Marist early and often. The Peacocks cruised to a 62-39 victory.
The Red Foxes' offense could not muster much against a usually stingy Peacocks' defense. Marist shot 30.2 percent from the field and scored its second-lowest amount of points on the season. Only the drubbing from 75-38 was more offensively inept.
Saint Peter's jumped out to a 20-3 lead and that was the ball game. Nick Leon scored 15 while Jeron Belin added 13 points.
Devin Price was the only Red Fox to score in double figures. The point guard scored 12 points but had six turnovers to just two assists.
Daye Kaba and Javon Parris tallied seven points apiece on Senior Day. Kaba will graduate and forgo his final season of eligibility in hopes of playing internationally.
The move makes sense for Kaba since he is set academically and the Red Foxes will not challenge for the MAAC crown. After Naofall Folahan withdrew his committal, the writing was on the wall for Kaba.
Marist plays its final game of the season at the Times Union Center on Sunday at 4 p.m. Siena has its Senior Day on Sunday. This should mark an emotional game for Alex Franklin, Edwin Ubiles, and Ronald Moore. They do play the MAAC Tournament in the same venue, however, so it is not their final home game.

Folahan out at Marist

This dreadful season has finally hit Marist where it hurts: in recruiting. The great hope for the future, Naofall "Ming" Folahan, has rescinded his commitment from the Red Foxes.
After losing Casiem Drummond to academic ineligibility, Folahan represented the force that would free up guards Devin Price and Candon Rusin. That responsibility now lies entirely on Menelik Watson's shoulders.
Chuck Martin, suffering through a 1-and-forever season, loses a 6-foot-11, 230-pound pure center. Folahan, who apparently had better options, chose to explore those options after seeing Marist struggle to win one game this season.
Despite the circumstances, this is a hard pill to swallow for a team in dire need of good news.

Irvine edges Marist in BracketBusters

Marist came close but could not execute down the stretch in California.
UC-Irvine took a 64-62 lead after Zack Atkinson made a jump shot with 15 seconds left and held on to win, 66-65.
With Marist's ensuing possession, Dejuan Goodwin was charged with a turnover with only six seconds remaining. After a pair of free-throws, Daye Kaba converted a three-pointer as time expired that left Marist one point short.
Despite falling behind by 12 early in the second half, Marist used an extended 18-6 run to tie the game, 52-52. Devin Price scored 11 of his 18 points during that stretch.
The Red Foxes took a brief lead with 5:08 left to play when Goodwin buried a three-pointer to put Marist up, 57-56. Goodwin scored 10 points in 38 minutes of action.
Irvine went on a 6-0 from that point and closed out the game.
Forward Eric Wise scored a game-high 20 points for the 12-16 Anteaters. Marist dropped to 1-26.
Of Marist's 21 field goals, 13 were three-pointers. The Red Foxes shot 54.2 percent from behind the arc but were outrebounded, 45-26.
Four Red Foxes played over 30 minutes, with three of them scoring in double figures. In addition to Price and Goodwin, Candon Rusin scored 10 points in 31 minutes.
Daye Kaba added 13 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in 26 minutes off the bench.

Marist drops a pair on Buffalo trip

Marist got blown out in a pair of MAAC contests over the weekend to drop to 1-25 on the long season.
In their annual Buffalo trip, Marist trailed Canisius by as many as 25 before falling, 71-56. The Red Foxes followed up with a clunker against the Niagara Purple Eagles.
Marist competed in the first half against Niagara before going stagnant on offense and dropping the game, 70-51.
Candon Rusin's three-pointer with 3:50 left in the first half cut Niagara's lead to 30-23, but that's the closest Marist would get. Niagara put the game away in the second half with a 12-0 run that turned a 51-40 game into a 63-40 blowout.
Devin Price finished with a team-high 15 points and Rusin added 11 points against Niagara. In the loss to Canisius, Rusin had an impressive outing, scoring 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Price scored 12 against the Golden Griffs.
While rebounding doomed Marist in the Canisius loss, turnovers plagued the Red Foxes on Sunday. Marist turned the ball over 16 times to Niagara's eight.
The argument could be made that this team is hitting the wall. Rob Johnson has struggled mightily, tallying only three points in the two combined games.
Javon Parris has assumed a portion of Johnson's minutes, but he has only shot 3-of-12 during the trip.
Dejuan Good win started against Niagara while Daya Kaba came off the bench.
Observations:
- It's not a good sign when a former major conference recruit, Daye Kaba from Boston College, is coming off the bench for a 1-25 team. While Kaba is certainly just a missing piece to Marist's puzzle this season, he needed to have larger contributions similar to the ones he had against Siena.
- Rob Johnson should probably sit the next game or two. Playing out of position in a long season has finally caught up with him. Dorvell Carter should start in his place in an attempt to showcase his skills before Anell Alexis, Menelik Watson, and Adam Kemp become eligible next season. Johnson will remain ahead of him at that position next year.
- This season can't end soon enough for Marist. With what will likely be one win in a 29-game season, next season should be a welcome relief.

Iona staves off Marist upset bid

Marist gave the No. 2 team in the MAAC a run for its money, but ultimately, Iona prevailed.
Iona feasted off of Marist's turnovers and converted its free-throws en route to a 56-51 win in the McCann Center on Sunday afternoon.
After Candon Rusin split a pair of free-throws to cut the Gaels' lead to 50-48, Iona went 6-of-6 from the charity stripe in the final 1:41 to close out the game.
The Red Foxes never led in the game, although Daye Kaba's jumper with 3:21 left in the first half tied the game, 28-28. Iona led by as many as eight points in the second half, but Rusin and Dorvell Carter buried three-pointers to keep Marist close.
Rusin and Iona's Scott Machado tallied a game-high 17 points. Daye Kaba added 10 points while Carter scored eight points off the bench. Korey Bauer grabbed 10 rebounds inside.
Marist's other two freshmen continued to struggle. Devin Price and Rob Johnson combined to shoot 3-of-14 from the field, good for eight points.
Like good teams do, Iona capitalized on Marist's mistakes. The Gaels scored 22 points off the Red Foxes 18 turnovers. Iona also converted 15 of their 19 free-throws as compared to Marist's 9-of-16.
Marist does not play again until Friday, Feb. 12, at Canisius. The Golden Griffs are 6-8 in the MAAC and coming off a 73-72 overtime loss to Saint Peter's.
Marist dropped to 1-24 on the season and 1-14 in conference play.

Gavin leaving VCU

Former MAAC rookie of the year Jay Gavin transferred from Marist following Matt Brady's departure. He's now departing another school himself.
Jay Gavin announced that he will be leaving VCU after his playing time decreased dramatically. He had a marquee coming-out performance against national powerhouse Oklahoma in which he poured in 20 points.
This will be Gavin's second transfer since coming to Marist as a freshman. He was apparently at odds with his new coach at VCU, Shaka Smart, over playing time.
Smart apparently said that he does not determine playing time, the players do.
Smart took over for current Alabama coach Anthony Grant.

Jaspers blitz Red Foxes

Candon Rusin's three-pointer to close the first half looked to give Marist some much needed momentum Friday night. It didn't turn out that way, though.
Marist cut Manhattan's lead to 29-22 at the half, but the Jaspers exploded offensively in the second half to win, 72-47.
Marist's only win of the season came against Manhattan, and chances are, that will be the lone win. Manhattan opened the second half with a 12-0 run and the game never got back in hand. Manhattan led by as many as 27 points and won by 25.
Darryl Crawford led Manhattan with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Rico Pickett and George Beamon added 13 points apiece and the rest of the Manhattan team spread the scoring wealth in the lopsided win.
Marist placed three players in double-digit scoring. Candon Rusin scored a team-high 12 points. Daye Kaba and Korey Bauer scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The only other Red Fox to score significant points was Devin Price (8 points). He shot 2-of-12, however. Walk-on Pat McDerby finished with two points, only one fewer than the next highest scorer after Price (Hall with three).
Rob Johnson and Dejuan Goodwin went scoreless on the night.
Marist shot 31.3 percent from the field while Manhattan shot 48.3 percent. Manhattan also hammered Marist on the boards, outrebounding the Red Foxes, 38-23. The Jaspers also grabbed 11 offensive rebounds.
Marist will return to action on Super Bowl Sunday for a 2 p.m. tilt against Iona.