Marist men take on 'monster' Monmouth with momentum

The Marist College men’s basketball team broke through on Sunday.

But while the losing streak is over, establishing a winning streak Tuesday night may be an even greater challenge.

“Monmouth is a monster,” Marist coach Mike Maker said of his team’s next opponent. “It’s a short turnaround for us, against a team that I don’t think has any weaknesses.”

The Hawks will enter McCann Arena as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s first-place team (19-5 overall, 11-2 MAAC), and first in many statistical categories, including points per game (80.8), defensive field-goal percentage (38.8 percent) and steals per game (8.0).

Marist (5-17, 2-11), though, for the first time in 2016, will enter a contest with a modicum of momentum, following Sunday’s 79-73 victory over Siena, which ended an 11-game skid.

“We have a young team that’s still progressing,” Maker said. “We’ve had some close calls in closely contested games that we haven’t found a way to win yet. (Sunday) we did.

“The spirit in the locker room was a lot better” following the win, Maker said, but, “our guys, to their credit, have not really been down.”

That includes the last time Marist faced Monmouth, an 83-72 loss in New Jersey that Maker has pointed to as an example of his team’s positivity even in the face of tall odds. The Red Foxes trailed by 24 points midway through the second half, before chipping the deficit down to eight late.

Justin Robinson, the Hawks’ 5-foot-8 star junior guard who was named MAAC Player of the Week Monday, scored 28 in the first meeting against Marist. Wings Deon Jones (13 points, seven rebounds) and Micah Seaborn (16 points) also contributed. As a team, the Hawks drained 10 of 22 3-pointers and held Marist to 34.3 percent shooting from the floor.

Marist redshirt junior guard Khallid Hart and freshman guard Brian Parker each scored 24 in the game, but freshmen starters Kristinn Palsson and Isaiah Lamb combined to miss all 16 of their shots, all from behind the 3-point line.

Maker said simply making shots will be one key to a better showing in the rematch, as well as limiting second-chance opportunities.

“The most important thing for us is to play with some confidence and stay true to what we want to do,” the coach said.

Marist knocked down 47.1 percent of its shots in Sunday’s win. And while Hart and Parker combined for 41 points, Lamb and Palsson split 19 points, and junior post Kentrall Brooks chipped in seven points and five rebounds in his fourth start of the season.

Following Tuesday, Marist will host Manhattan — a team the Red Foxes beat in Riverdale in December — on Saturday, before a three game-swing at Fairfield, Niagara and Canisius next week.

“I think our record is deceiving,” Maker said. “We’re hoping that we can play our best basketball down the stretch moving toward the conference tournament.”

Mike Benischek: mbenisch@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4722, Twitter: @BenischekPJ

Monmouth at Marist men

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Where: McCann Arena

Radio/On the Web: WKIP (1450 AM); www.goredfoxes.com