Marist Men’s Basketball Wins Second Straight

By Mike Ferraro

VESTAL – The Marist men’s basketball team earned a 64-51 victory at Binghamton in a non-conference game on Wednesday night.

The win was the Red Foxes’ second straight, which raised Marist’s record back to .500 at 4-4. The Bearcats are now 2-6.

After the teams traded baskets early, a dunk by Ogheneyole Akuwovo gave Binghamton its largest lead at seven, 19-12 at the 8:21 mark.

The Red Foxes held the Bearcats to just five points over the remainder of the half, and Jordan Jones’ bucket on Marist’s final possession tied the score at 24 heading into halftime.

With 17:43 to play, Samkelo Cele’s three-pointer tied the score at 29 apiece. His layup at the 16:54 mark gave the Red Foxes the lead for good. Cele’s three started the Red Foxes on a 17-3 run over a stretch of 7:43.

Binghamton never came any closer than seven in the final 11 minutes. The Red Foxes’ largest lead was 14.

Cele led all scorers with 18 points. He shot 7-for-11 from the field and drained both of his three-point attempts.

Reigning MAAC Rookie of the Week Jao Ituka scored 15 in 20 minutes off the bench. He shot 7-for-10 from the field, grabbed four rebounds, and had two steals.

Victor Enoh led the Red Foxes with nine rebounds.

Marist shot 5-for-9 (.556) from three-point range.

The Red Foxes committed just nine turnovers, while forcing 18.

In the second half, Marist shot 14-for-23 (.609) from the field, while holding Binghamton to 10-for-34 (.294). The Red Foxes outscored the Bearcats 40-27 over the final 20 minutes.

Akuwovo and Christian Hinckson each had 10 points and nine rebounds to lead Binghamton.