Iona Gaels Slip Past the Marist Red Foxes

POUGHKEEPSIE – The Marist men’s basketball team fell to Iona, 95-88, in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference matchup on Feb. 17 in McCann Arena. The loss drops the Red Foxes at 6-22 overall and 3-14 in conference play. Iona moves to 18-10 overall and 11-6 in MAAC play.

Red-shirt senior guard Khallid Hart led Marist with 26 points. Hart shot 9-for-11 from the free-throw line. Sophomore forward Ryan Funk scored an efficient 20 points on 5-for-7 shooting from three-point range and a 5-for-5 performance from the free-throw line. Sophomore guard Brian Parker flirted with a triple-double as he finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists. It was Parker’s team-best fourth double-double of the season.

Senior center Kentrall Brooks had his third double-digit rebound game of the season with 10 in 20 minutes. Making his first start in a Marist uniform, sophomore guard Richie Mitchell scored seven points to go along with career highs of five assists and two steals.

Hart and Funk highlighted the first half for Marist with double-digit scoring totals. Hart tallied nine points in the first five minutes of play and totaled 17 in the first 20 minutes. Funk followed up with 12 points in the first stanza, going 3-for-4 from three-point range.

Iona finished the first half with a 48-46 advantage, but Marist took the lead with 17:02 to play on two free throws by Funk. A three-pointer by sophomore forward Kristinn Palsson gave Marist a 70-63 lead with 10:47 left, and matched the Red Foxes’ largest lead of the night

The Red Foxes remained in front until a basket by Iona’s Schadrac Casimir with 2:42 remaining. After a free throw by Parker tied the score on the next possession, Casimir answered with a three-point play, which gave the Gaels the lead for good with 2:10 left. The Gaels iced the victory by going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final 14 seconds.

Casimir led all scorers with 27 points in 32 minutes off the bench. A total of five Gaels finished in double figures. Jordan Washington contributed 19 points and a game-high 12 rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench.