Men's Basketball Face Marist Friday on ESPN3
After a two-game road trip, the ¼â½ÐÊÓƵ University men's basketball team will return to Webster Bank Arena on Friday night for a match up with Marist College. The game will be broadcasted live on and SNY beginning at 7 pm.
The Stags will open its season series with Marist College on Friday, the team’s ninth home game of the season. On its most recent road trip, the Stags defeated Siena but fell to Iona. The team is one of four conference teams with a winning road record (2-1), joining Monmouth (4-0), Canisius (3-1), and Rider (2-1). The Red Foxes have been road warriors through the first half of the season, playing 11 games away from the McCann Center. Eight of those 11 contests were true road games with the other three dates coming on a neutral court. Marist has one win in those 11 games, knocking off Fresno State at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Florida.
Marist will play its third road game in its last four dates this evening, a stretch which includes games at Saint Peter’s and at Quinnipiac. Chavaughn Lewis has been the driving force behind the team’s offensive success this year, posting a team-high for scoring in six straight games and in 10 contests overall. He averages 19.2 points per game which places fourth overall among MAAC scoring leaders. Khalid Hart (17.0 ppg) and Phillip Lawrence (10.5 ppg) are also scoring in double figures for the season. Hart registered 33 points in the season opener against Bucknell, the most points scored by a Red Fox this year. Eric Truog is the team’s top rebounder with 5.6 caroms per contest, while his 11 blocks is best on the team. After tonight’s game, Marist will host Quinnipiac for an afternoon game on Sunday.
The Stags continue to spread the wealth when it comes to offense as Mike Kirkland stepped up to pace the team at Iona last Tuesday. The junior more than doubled up his season scoring and rebounding statistics against the Gaels, recording 18 points and tying his personal-best with eight rebounds. Kirkland ranks third on the team in both scoring (7.3 ppg) and rebounding (3.7 rpg) in addition to placing seven in the MAAC with a .783 field goal percentage. Tyler Nelson added 15 points against the Gaels , his best performance since netting a career-high 24 points against South Dakota on November 22. Nelson is second on the team with a 7.8 scoring average and is the top scoring newcomer on the team. Marcus Gilbert remains on top of the team’s scoring list with 15.1 points per game after posting eight points at Iona.
Tickets for the ¼â½ÐÊÓƵ-Marist game are available at the Webster Bank Arena box office as well as by navigating to www.ticketmaster.com. Fans will also be able to wish happy birthday to Lucas the Stag as the ¼â½ÐÊÓƵ University community as well as some of his mascot friends will be on hand to celebrate the big day.
