Men's Basketball 12/6/2010 12:11:00 AM Canisius College Athletics

Second-Half Run Not Enough as Men's Basketball Falls at Marist

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- Canisius sophomore Gaby Belardo had a game-high 19 points, and the Golden Griffins' defense held Marist to just three field goals in the game's final 20 minutes, but it was not enough to overcome an early draught, as the Red Foxes defeated Canisius 74-64 Sunday afternoon in the McCann Center. Marist is now 2-6 overall and 2-0 in MAAC play, while the Griffs slipped to 3-4 overall and 0-2 in league action.

Belardo matched his career high with 19 points, and 15 of those came in the second half as the Blue and Gold attempted to overcome a 19-point haltime deficit. Fellow sophomore Alshwan Hymes added 14 points, highlighted by four 3-point field goals, while senior Greg Logins chipped in seven points and nine rebounds to the losing effort.

"Clearly we are not operating on all cylinders as a team yet," coach Tom Parrotta said. "We have allowed ourselves to dig deep holes on the road, and although we've shown a lot of resiliency to get back into games, we have come up short. We need to show much more consistency as a unit and get solid efforts from guys each and every night. We haven't had all five guys out there playing their best basketball yet, and we are looking for some effective combinations moving forward."

Marist had five players score in double figures in the win, with guards R.J. Hall and Sam Prescott leading the way with 13 each. Freshman forward Jay Bowie had 12 points and nine rebounds, while sophomore guard Candon Rusin posted 13 points, which all came in the first half before he was ejected for a flagarant technical foul with 3:50 left before the break. Prescott added 10 rebounds to his line as the Red Foxes out rebounded Canisius by a 43-40 clip.

Marist shot 50 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from 3-point range in the game's first half to take a 45-26 lead into the locker room at the break, but the Red Foxes managed to make just three field goals in the second stanza as Canisius made its push to get back into the game. In the first stanza, Marist broke open a tie game with a 24-2 run over a span of 7:11 to take a 34-12 lead with 7:08 left before the break, capped by a 3-pointer by Prescott from the wing.

In the second half, Canisius cut into Marist's cushion with a 7-3 run in the half's open moments, and the Red Foxes took control of the game at the free-throw line, as the host squad would score 14 of its next 16 points from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Canisius fough back on the power of the 3-point shot, hitting a total of seven treys in the second half, with Belardo and freshman Eric Kindler hitting two apiece. Marist led by 20 with 11:02 left in the game, but the Blue and Gold pushed back and cut that margin to just eight with a 15-3 run over 2:09, capped by a tip-in by Tomas Vazquez-Simmons that made the score 60-52 with 8:53 left on the clock.

But that would be as close as Canisius would get on the day, as Marist closed out the final 8:00 with eight made free throws and a key 3-pointer from the corner by Bowie as time ticked off the shot clock to seal the win. For the game, Marist shot 66.7 percent from the line, hitting on 28-of-42 chances from the free-throw stripe, while the Blue and Gold went 7-for-10 from the line and shot 32.4 percent for the game.

Canisius will return to action Tuesday, Dec. 7, when the team plays at South Dakota. Tipoff in The DakotaDome is set for 8 p.m. This will mark the first game between the two schools and will close out Canisius' four-game road swing.

Game Notes: The win for Marist snapped Canisius' five-game winning streak in the series... The Griffs lead the all-time series 18-14... Canisius used a different starting line-up for the first time all season, with freshman Chris Manhertz earning his first career start... Kindler's six points off the bench are a new career high for the freshman... Logins now has 615 career rebounds, and Sunday marked his 100th career game played for the Griffs... Hymes has nine 3-pointers in the team's last three outings... Canisius is 0-4 this year when being out rebounded by its opponent.

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Players Mentioned

#12 Gaby Belardo: G; 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore

#11 Alshwan Hymes: G; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#2 Eric Kindler: F; 6' 5"; Freshman

#00 Greg Logins: F; 6' 7"; Senior

#13 Chris Manhertz: F; 6' 6"; Freshman

#42 Tomas Vazquez-Simmons: F; 6' 7"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#12 Gaby Belardo
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

#11 Alshwan Hymes
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: G

#2 Eric Kindler
: 6' 5"; Freshman
: F

#00 Greg Logins
: 6' 7"; Senior
: F

#13 Chris Manhertz
: 6' 6"; Freshman
: F

#42 Tomas Vazquez-Simmons
: 6' 7"; Senior
: F