First Home Win of the Season

Tonight was another exciting night in the McCann Arena as the Marist men's basketball team picked up their first home win of the season by defeating Colgate from the Patriot League 81-73. Although the vast majority of students were still on Thanksgiving break, there was a lot of energy from the local crowd throughout the game, which really helped us.

Marist got two big performances out of freshman in the game; Chavaughn Lewis scored a career high 23 points in 23 minutes of play and added 3 rebounds, 5 steals, 1 block, and 2 assists, while Manny Thomas also made a big contribution with 13 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 rebounds, and 1 charge. Junior guard Devin Price also played a large role for the Red Foxes, adding 12 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal. Marist's score was boosted by a large number of free throws, converting 23 of 29 for 79.3%.

Sterling Melville lead Colgate in points with 20 and Mitch Rolls also contributed 19. Colgate now advances to 2-3 on the season as Marist rolls on to 2-4.

You could not have asked for a better performance from Marist's freshman. They are clearly coming together and raising expectations around campus. Right now they are contributing mainly as inpact players, bringing the energy and poise it takes to win a Division I game. This was our second win of the season, having defeated Radford last week at Mohegan Sun.

Tomorrow (Sunday) will be an off day - everyone will be resting up for the first conference game of the season this Thursday at Loyola. Marist will head to Maryland on Wednesday night after practice. This will be a true test for us as we were predicted to finish last in the MAAC whereas Loyola has only lost one game this year (to the ACC's Wake Forest). If everyone stays healthy and continues to play with the same intensity, we will have an opportunity to surprise many people this season.

The first Marist home game when students are back on campus will be on Sunday, Dec. 4th when we host Rider. We look forward to packing the student section, so please help us out, Marist students, and spread the word.

I will be sure to keep you updated.