Marist Men’s Basketball Prevails at Manhattan

RIVERDALE – The Marist men’s basketball team earned a 75-70 victory at Manhattan in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play on Sunday at Draddy Gymnasium. The Red Foxes trailed by 11 in the second half, but came back to earn just their second win at Manhattan in the last 15 seasons.

For the first time all season, Marist had four scorers in double digits. Red-shirt junior guard Khallid Hart led Marist’s balanced scoring attack with 17 points. Hart shot 6-for-11 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. He was followed by three freshmen – forward Ryan Funk with 16, guard Brian Parker with 16, and forward Kristinn Palsson with 14.

Funk took just seven shots, as he went 5-for-7 from the field, 4-for-5 from three-point range and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. He added three rebounds, two steals and one assist against no turnovers in 26 minutes off the bench. Palsson only took five shots, going 4-for-5 (all three-pointers) from the field in addition to going 2-for-2 from the free-throw line with a team-high five rebounds. Parker went 10-for-12 from the free-throw line.

Senior center Eric Truog led Marist with six assists – a career-high.

Manhattan’s Rich Williams led all scorers with 22 points, followed by RaShawn Stores with 18. Zane Waterman had a game-high 10 rebounds, and Tyler Wilson had a game-high 10 assists.

The game included 12 lead changes and nine ties. A three-pointer by Funk gave Marist its largest lead of the first half at 29-22 with 5:02 remaining until halftime. However, the Jaspers outscored the Red Foxes 7-2 over the final three minutes of the half, and a three-pointer by Williams in the waning seconds gave Manhattan a 37-34 leading heading into the locker room.

With 16:13 to play, a three-pointer by Hart tied the score at 42. Manhattan responded with an 11-0 run, punctuated by a three-pointer from Shane Richards with 12:40 remaining, which put the Jaspers up 53-42. Marist methodically chipped away at its deficit, and two free throws by Hart with seven minutes to play gave Marist back the lead at 58-56.

Waterman’s jumper with 3:36 left put Manhattan back up 67-66. With two minutes to play, two free throws by Funk gave Marist back the lead at 68-67. On Manhattan’s next possession, Truog blocked a shot by Waterman, and Funk secured the rebound. Funk then drained a three-pointer on the Red Foxes’ next possession, and Marist never led by less than four the rest of the way.

Marist shot .512 (22-for-43) from the field, .563 (9-for-16) from three-point range and .864 (22-for-26) from the free-throw line. It marked the third time in six games Marist shot at least 50 percent from the field in a game this season.

Manhattan shot .463 (25-for-54) from the field. The Jaspers shot .700 (14-for-20) in the first half, but .324 (11-for-32) in the second half. Marist held Manhattan to just two field goals over the final four minutes. Following Waterman’s basket with 3:36 remaining, the Jaspers went scoreless over the ensuing 3:32.

Marist is now 2-4 overall and 1-1 in the MAAC. Manhattan is 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the MAAC.

Marist returns to action on Wednesday, when the Red Foxes host Albany. Tip-off at McCann Arena is set for 7 p.m.