Men's basketball frustrated in home finale

On a snowy Friday night in Poughkeepsie, it wasn't only fans who failed to show up to the James J. McCann Recreation Center for a senior night contest between Marist and St. Peter's.
Beleaguered from the opening tip, the Marist men's basketball team lost 62-39 to the St. Peter's Peacocks in their final home game of the 2009-2010 campaign.
"We couldn't make a shot early on," Marist coach Chuck Martin said. "When you make shots, then the energy level goes through the roof and then you're feeling good. There's a rhythm, you feel good about yourself, the ball movement starts to get better. But when you're missing shots, man, it deflates you."
Attendance was listed at 1,725, but hundreds of season-ticket holders did not attend the game.
Marist went 4-for-23 (.175) from the floor in the first half, including 0-for-7 from behind the arc.
Devin Price, the only Red Fox to score in double digits, led Marist with 12 points. Price had six turnovers and just two assists.
Marist fell to 1-27 and 1-16 in the MAAC. With the win, Saint Peter's improved to 16-12 on the season, including 11-6 in the MAAC.
Just under four minutes into the game, a jump shot by Ryan Bacon extended St. Peter's lead to 11-1. At 10:43, Jeron Belin hit a 3-pointer, extending the Peacocks' lead to 15. Seconds later, Price had the ball stolen near mid-court by Brandon Hall, who dished to Belin for a fast break dunk making the score 20-3.
The Peacocks could smell blood, and began trapping every Marist ball handler. The approach led to turnovers and hindered Marist's chances of getting into an offensive rhythm. Martin took the blame for his team's inability to handle the trap defense.
"I have to do a better job of preparing these guys for that [trap]." Martin said. "I didn't spend enough time in practice to make sure that these guys understood every [defensive] rotation. 'This is how they're going to trap. They're going to trap on the sideline. Here are your reads. You're looking at the corner. You're looking for the diagonal skip, and now this is what you should be looking for.'"
With 10:43 remaining the game, Marist trailed 57-23. The Red Foxes finished the game with a 16-5 run to tighten the deficit.
The most positive moment of the night came before tip-off. Seniors Javon Parris and Daye Kaba were honored at mid-court. Both Kaba and Parris made the Dean's List for the fall 2009 semester.
Kaba, originally from Cergy, France, will forgo his fifth year of eligibility and attempt to play pro ball in Europe.
Parris, who played two seasons under Martin, spoke highly of his coach and his experiences at Marist.
"I know he's [Martin] taking lumps now - we're taking lumps now - but if anybody knows and comes to practice, he coaches us like we're 25-1 every single day. That's a testament to him being tough and being a good coach," Parris said.
"The last few years, it's been a dream for me," Parris said. "I'm able to do something I love, and coach Martin gave me a chance to live my dream. I didn't dream about going to the NBA, I dreamt about getting a college degree and playing college basketball."
"I felt really bad for our two seniors." Martin said. "These guys deserved to have a better night but that's life sometimes. That's life; the sun will come up tomorrow. You have to figure it out."
Sunday
Two days later, Marist concluded its regular season schedule with a 76-51 loss to MAAC opponent Siena in the Times Union Center in Albany, NY.
Much like their first matchup with the Saints, Marist played well early. The Red Foxes led during the first half, and trailed by just six at halftime. Siena responded with a 15-0 run to open up the second half and pull away.
Poughkeepsie High School graduate Edwin Ubiles scored 21 points. Alex Franklin scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Price led Marist with 12 points and five assists.
The loss dropped Marist to 1-28, and extended their losing streak to 17, the longest in program history.
Marist will be in Albany on Friday for the MAAC tournament. The 10th-seeded Red Foxes will play at 9:30 p.m. on Friday night against seventh-seeded Canisius. The Golden Griffins defeated the Red Foxes by 15 points twice during the regular season.