Marist Red Foxes Topple Niagara 93-87 in Overtime

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY – The Marist men’s basketball team prevailed in overtime at Niagara by a score of 93-87 in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game on Monday night at the Gallagher Center.

“In these situations all year long, we’ve had a tendency to fold when things got tough,” Marist head coach Mike Maker said. “But we learned a lot about ourselves in overtime.”

Red-shirt senior guard Khallid Hart led all scorers with 31 points. Hart shot 11-for-15 from the field and 5-for-6 from three-point range. Sophomore swingman David Knudsen scored a career-high 21 in 27 minutes off the bench. Knudsen shot 8-for-11 from the field and 5-for-6 from three-point range. Sophomore guard Brian Parker gave the Red Foxes three double-digit scorers with 11 points. Senior center Kentrall Brooks and sophomore forward Isaiah Lamb both came off the bench to grab a team-high seven rebounds. Lamb added seven points, four assists, two steals, and a blocked shot against zero turnovers.

The Red Foxes led for 38 minutes and 30 seconds of the game’s 45 minutes. The Purple Eagles jumped out to an early advantage as Dominic Robb scored his team’s first six points, but Niagara did not lead at any point in the game’s final 42 minutes. Marist claimed a 14-8 edge at the 13:04 mark thanks to back-to-back three-pointers by Knudsen. Niagara bounced back to tie the game on two occasions later in the first half, but Marist went on a 16-4 run over the half’s final 7:06 to take a 42-30 advantage into the locker room.

In the second half, Hart scored 13 consecutive points – three three-pointers and two two-pointers – as Marist expanded its lead to 14. With five minutes to play, the Red Foxes still maintained a 10-point lead at 71-61. But the Purple Eagles fought back as they scored on eight of their final nine possessions of regulation. Two free throws by Parker put Marist up 81-76 with 30.7 seconds remaining, but a three-pointer by Kahlil Dukes brought the Purple Eagles to within two with 19.7 seconds left. Parker then missed the front end of a one-and-one with 14.9 to go, which brought Niagara downcourt for the final possession of regulation. Robb missed a jumper in the lane, but Matt Scott secured the offensive rebound and converted a layup as time expired, which sent the game to overtime tied at 81.

Marist got a stop on the first possession of overtime, and Hart responded with a three-pointer, which put the Red Foxes up for good. Marist never led by less than three for the rest of the extra period, and Hart scored six of the team’s 12 points in overtime. The Red Foxes held the Purple Eagles to 1-for-8 shooting from the field in overtime.

Marist is now 6-13 overall and 3-5 in the MAAC. Niagara is 5-14 on the season and 2-6 in MAAC play.

The Red Foxes will play the last of their four consecutive road games on Saturday, Jan. 21, when they travel to Rider for a MAAC contest. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.