Courtesy of RedFoxes.com.
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The first-ever meeting between the College of Charleston and Marist went the way of the visitors on Monday afternoon at McCann Arena by a score of 85-75. On the strength of hot and timely shooting by the Cougars, the Red Foxes’ second half comeback was quelled down the stretch.
Sophomore Chavaughn Lewis (Queens, N.Y.) led Marist in both points (23) and rebounds (seven), and shot 10-for-17 from the field. Red-shirt senior Dorvell Carter (Bronx, N.Y.) came off the bench to score a season-high 19 points in 22 minutes, and drained four three-pointers. Sophomore Manny Thomas (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field and a 3-for-5 performance from three-point range.
The game began with a Cougar feel to it as the visitors took the lead at the 17:44 mark and would never relinquish it. After a pair of three-pointers by the Red Foxes short-circuited early attempts to pull away, Charleston would eventually mount a 12-4 run to earn an 11-point advantage by 11:24.
Down 25-14, Marist would instantly respond with a long run of its own. Carter began the charge with his second three-pointer of the afternoon at 11:15. Following a Lewis breakaway dunk, Carter would connect from distance again at 10:18 to bring the game within five at 27-22. This run would eventually expand to a 14-4 margin over a 3:23 span of play to turn an 11-point game into a one-point game at the 8:01 mark.
Over the final eight minutes of the half, the Cougars would put some distance between themselves and Marist with a 16-10 close-out.
The teams would go into the locker room with the score 45-38. Charleston’ Andrew Lawrence led all scorers at the break with 17 points. Carter led Marist’s effort with 13 points on 3-5 shooting from three-point range and a 4-4 effort from the foul line. The Cougars outshot Marist from the field 50 (15-30) percent to 43.3 (13-30), though the hosts had a 50 (5-10) to 40 percent (4-10) lead in three-point shooting.
Following a quick Charleston basket to open the second half, the Red Foxes would mount an 11-5 run over the next 2:54 to cut down the lead from nine to three. Thomas netted eight of Marist’s points on 3-3 shooting with two treys.
Though within two points, the Red Foxes could never draw even with the Cougars as the perennial Southern Conference front-runner would bend, but not break and slowly open a 10-point lead by the 8:37 mark of the period.
A layup by sophomore T.J. Curry (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and an “and one” by senior Devin Price (Inglewood, Calif.) would eventually draw the game within four at 79-75 with 3:54 left in regulation, but the Cougars would once again tease the fans at McCann Arena and shut out the host Red Foxes to close out the game.
With the final score 85-75, three extra made field goals and five more free throw conversions by the College of Charleston would ultimately be the deciding factor. Statistically the game was very close with each team shooting over 45 percent from the field; Charleston shot 51.8 percent (29-56), while Marist shot 46.4 percent (26-56), as well as from three-point range; Charleston 47.1 (8-17) and Marist 45.0 (9-20). From the charity stripe, Marist converted 77.8 percent (14-18) of its free throws versus 67.9 (19-28) for the visitors.
The Red Foxes wrap up non-conference play with a 3-8 record. The team will jump back into MAAC league play beginning this Thursday, January 3 with a 7 p.m. matchup at Niagara. Marist currently holds a 1-1 mark in the MAAC and a 4-9 overall record.
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