Feb. 29, 2008

Iona-Marist Game Notes

TIP-OFF: The Marist men's basketball team returns to the McCann Center for the first time in three weeks to take on Iona. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.

ON THE AIR: This evening's game will be broadcast live on WKIP 1450 AM Poughkeepsie, with Ed Weir handling play-by-play and Jim Woods doing color analysis. The broadcast will also be available online at GoRedFoxes.com free of charge through Stretch Internet. The pregame show starts at 7 p.m. EST. The contest will air on Time Warner Cable 6 with Tony Morino on play-by-play, Steve Eggink on color and Geoff Brault reporting from the sideline.

TODAY'S TOP TIDBITS: Marist red-shirt senior guard Louie McCroskey is expected to play for the first time tonight since getting injured in a Jan. 17 game at Loyola. Including that game, the Red Foxes are 5-9 without him and 10-4 with him this season. ... The Red Foxes' 44 points at Cleveland State on Feb. 23 marked their lowest single-game scoring output since scoring 40 at Georgia Tech on Dec. 23, 2003. ... David Devezin's consecutive minutes played streak now totals 257 minutes, 51 seconds. ... Marist's last four-game losing streak came in the final four games of the 2004-05 season.

LAST TIME OUT: The Red Foxes lost their third straight, as they suffered a 59-44 loss at Cleveland State in an ESPNU BracketBusters contest. No Red Fox scored in double digits.

SCOUTING IONA: The Gaels enter tonight's game with records of 11-18 overall and 7-9 in the MAAC, which places them in seventh entering tonight's game. Iona is led in scoring by Dexter Gray (11.6 ppg) and rebounding by Gary Springer (7.5 rpg).

BRADY VS. IONA: Marist Head Coach Matt Brady is 4-3 in his career against Iona, winning the last four meetings after dropping the first three.

FIRST MEETING: Marist and Iona previously met this season on Jan. 24, with the Red Foxes earning a 59-50 win at the Hynes Athletics Center. Marist held Iona to just .290 shooting from the field.

RETURN OF LOUIE: Marist red-shirt senior guard Louie McCroskey is expected to play for the first time tonight since getting injured in a Jan. 17 game at Loyola.

MISSING MCCROSKEY: Counting Marist's game at Loyola on Jan. 17 when he got injured just 2:13 into the contest, the Red Foxes are 5-9 without red-shirt senior guard Louie McCroskey this season, and 10-4 when he is in the lineup.

MCCROSKEY'S IMPROVEMENTS: In his three seasons at Syracuse, red-shirt senior guard Louie McCroskey shot .386 from the field and .255 from three-point range while averaging 4.5 points per game. At Marist, McCroskey is shooting .469 from the field and .422 from three-point range while averaging 12.4 points per game. He has 19 three-pointers this season, tying his previous career high set in the 2004-05 season.

COAST TO COAST: Red-shirt sophomore point guard David Devezin has played every minute of Marist's last six games, and sat for just 1 minute, 34 seconds in the preceding game against Rider on Jan. 30. In those seven games, Devezin is averaging 12.3 points and 4.9 assists per game while shooting .537 (36-67) from the field.

THE STREAK KEEPS ROLLING: David Devezin's consecutive minutes played streak now totals 257 minutes, 51 seconds.

ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: The Red Foxes have had seven streaks of at least three games this season -- three winning streaks (five, five and three) and four losing streaks (all three).

BUT THE BAD STREAKS STOP AT THREE: Marist's last four-game losing streak came in the 2004-05 season, when the Red Foxes dropped their final four games of the season.

LEAP DAY UNKIND: Since going Division I in the 1981-82 season, the Red Foxes have played twice on Feb. 29. They also suffered losses on this date in 1992 (at Monmouth, 65-53) and in 2004 (at Manhattan, 92-67).

STILPHEN MOVING UP THROUGH THE RANKS: Red-shirt senior forward Ryan Stilphen is currently ranked fifth on Marist's all-time rebounding list with 632 in his career. Next on the list is Miroslav Pecarski with 655. Stilphen is also 17th on Marist's all-time scoring list with 1,127 career points, three behind Bruce Johnson for the 16th spot. He scored his 1,000th career point at Rider on Jan. 4, becoming the 25th player in program history to reach the milestone.

FRESHMAN DIVISION I RECORD: Marist freshman guard Jay Gavin now holds the Division I program record for points scored by a freshman. Gavin, who currently has 350 points, broke the record previously held by Miroslav Pecarski, who tallied 325 in the 1985-86 season. Steve Smith, Marist's all-time leading scorer, scored 486 points in the 1979-80 season.

OFF AND ON: Red-shirt junior forward Ryan Schneider has alternated single and double-digit scoring games in his last nine contests. Schneider scored three in his last outing at Cleveland State on Feb. 23.

SECOND HALF LEADS: Marist has held a lead in the second half of 24 of its 28 games this season. The only games the Red Foxes have not had a second-half lead this season came on Nov. 15 in a 24-point loss to Miami, in a home loss to Rider on Jan. 30, a road defeat against Manhattan on Feb. 15 and a road loss at Cleveland State on Feb. 23.

BOARDS AND WINS TOGETHER: Marist is 14-5 when getting as many or more rebounds than the opponent this season, but 1-8 when getting outrebounded.

FREE THROWS ARE FUN, PART I: Marist is 0-7 this season when hitting less than 10 free throws in a game.

FREE THROWS ARE FUN, PART II: Marist is 11-0 this season when hitting as many or more free throws than the opponent, and 4-13 when hitting fewer.

0 FOR U: Marist is 0-6 this season in games televised on ESPNU.

0 FOR OT: Marist is 0-3 this season in overtime games. The Red Foxes went 4-0 in overtime last season.

EIGHT IS ENOUGH: The Red Foxes tied their season low by using just eight players at Cleveland State on Feb. 23. The Red Foxes also used eight players in both meetings against Siena on Feb. 4 and Feb. 8, and at Fairfield on Feb. 18.

AND ON THAT SAME TOPIC ... : Marist has been shortening the bench in recent games. The Red Foxes utilized at least 10 players in 20 of their first 21 games this season, but none of their last seven contests.

CHASING THE BEST CLASS EVER: This year's senior class is four victories off the record for most victories compiled over a four-year period in program history. Over the last four seasons, the Red Foxes have won 70 games. The winningest class in Marist history is the Class of 1988, which won 74 games and included two of the three Red Foxes in program history to have their numbers retired -- Rik Smits and Drafton Davis.

FEWER TURNOVERS = MORE WINS: Marist is 10-4 this season when committing 14 or fewer turnovers in a game, and 6-1 when committing fewer turnovers than the opponent. The Red Foxes' only loss of the season when committing fewer turnovers came on Feb. 18, when Marist committed just eight to Fairfield's 14.

THE NEWCOMERS: Players who are in their first year on the Marist roster this season (Korey Bauer, David Devezin, Jay Gavin, Dejuan Goodwin, Louie McCroskey, Geno Romanelli, Ryan Schneider, Lawrence Williams) have accounted for 57.3% of the scoring, 41.4% of the rebounding, 68.0% of the assists and 67.4% of the made three-pointers. From last season, the Red Foxes lost players who accounted for 64.6% of their scoring, 47.0% of their rebounding, 74.7% of their assists and 81.7% of their made three-pointers from last season.

BENCH PRODUCTION: The Marist reserves have combined to score 667 of the team's 1,951 points this year (34.2 percent). Marist's reserves have outscored the opposition's reserves in 22 of the team's 28 games.

KEEP THEM UNDER 70: Marist has a record of 38-6 since the beginning of the 2005-06 season when holding the opponent under 70 points.

SPONGY & STILPHEN: Spongy Benjamin and Ryan Stilphen rank fifth and eighth, respectively, in program history in career field-goal percentage.

BEN & JAY: Senior Ben Farmer and freshman Jay Gavin rank fifth and seventh, respectively, in program history entering tonight's game in career three-point percentage.

BEN'S TOP 10: Senior Ben Farmer also ranks in the top of Marist's all-time lists for games played (tied for eighth), three-pointers made (ninth) and three-pointers attempted (10th) entering tonight's game.

FARMER'S LONG-RANGE PLAN: Senior Ben Farmer has hit 60 field goals this year, and 48 of them are three-pointers. Farmer is shooting .387 (48-124) on his three-point attempts, but just .286 (12-42) on two-point attempts.

STRUGGLES AT THE LINE: Marist has nine games this season shooting 70 percent or better from the line, and 11 games under 60 percent.

STREAKS UNDER BRADY: Marist has had six winning streaks of at least five games under in Matt Brady's four seasons as head coach, including two this season.

HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE: Marist is 8-2 at home this season. The Red Foxes are 21-3 at home the last two years, and 27-4 at the McCann Center (dating back to the 2005-06 season) since the bleachers were installed behind both baskets.

WELCOME HOME: Marist's BracketBuster game at Cleveland State was a homecoming for Marist red-shirt senior forward Ryan Stilphen. Stilphen hails from Bay Village, Ohio, which is approximately 15 miles from Cleveland. Stilphen played his high school ball at St. Ignatius. This is the third time Stilphen has played a collegiate game in the state of Ohio, but it will be his first appearance as a Red Fox in Cleveland. Last season, Marist played at Ohio (Athens) and Wright State (Dayton).

MAAC IN BRACKETBUSTER GAMES: For the third straight year, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference had all 10 of its teams competing in the ESPNU BracketBusters series. The MAAC posted a 6-4 record in BracketBuster play.

COLD SHOOTING: Marist's .296 shooting percentage at Cleveland State on Feb. 23 was its lowest in a game this season. The Red Foxes shot 16-for-53 from the field in the game, tied a season low with three three-pointers made, set a season low for three-point percentage (.150) and went just 9-for-17 (.529) at the line.

NO BLOCKS: The Red Foxes did not record a blocked shot in their loss at Cleveland State on Feb. 23, marking the first time this season Marist did not have a blocked shot in a game.

LOW OUTPUT AT CLEVELAND STATE: The Red Foxes' 44 points at Cleveland State on Feb. 23 marked their lowest single-game scoring output since scoring 40 at Georgia Tech on Dec. 23, 2003. Marist did not score in the final 4:42 against Cleveland State, and did not hit a field goal in the final 6:01.

LOW-WATER MARKS: Against Manhattan on Feb. 15, the Red Foxes tied their season low for three-pointers made (3), had their then-lowest single-game three-point percentage of the season (.200) and had their lowest single-game rebounding total of the season (23).

DOUBLE DIGIT STREAK: Freshman guard Jay Gavin had a streak of 13 consecutive double-digit scoring games snapped when he had five at Saint Peter's on Feb. 10. Gavin averaged 17.3 points per game and hit 46 three-pointers in that span.

SCHEDULING NOTE: By facing Siena in back-to-back games on Feb. 4 and Feb. 8, the Red Foxes have faced a team in back-to-back regular-season games three times since joining the MAAC. The previous two came in 2003-04 (Saint Peter's, Jan. 19 and Jan. 25) and in 2001-02 (Loyola, Jan. 30 and Feb. 3).

HIGHS ... : Marist set a season high with 28 three-pointers attempted against Rider on Jan. 30. Senior Ben Farmer also set a career high with five three-pointers made.

... AND LOWS: Against Rider on Jan. 30, the Red Foxes set season lows for free throws made (five) and free-throw percentage in a game (.417).

UNDER 30: Marist had a string of holding three straight opponents -- Niagara on Jan. 21 (.270), Iona on Jan. 24 (.290) and Canisius on Jan. 27 (.259, a season low) -- under 30 percent shooting from the field. Prior to these games, the last Marist opponent to shoot under 30 percent from the field was Loyola on Jan. 12, 2005, which shot .295 from the floor in a 63-49 Marist triumph.

LARGEST MARGIN: Marist's 22-point victory over Canisius on Jan. 27 was its largest margin of victory this season. It was the first time the Red Foxes won a game by over 20 points since their 87-63 win in last year's MAAC Tournament quarterfinals, which also came against Canisius.

GAVIN HONORED AGAIN: Freshman guard Jay Gavin was named MAAC Rookie of the Week for the fifth time this season and fourth time in the last five weeks on Jan. 28.

100 CLUB: Red-shirt senior forward Ryan Stilphen made his 100th career start at Siena on Feb. 4. Stilphen and senior forward Shae McNamara played their 100th games at Marist on Jan. 21 against Niagara. Senior swingman Ben Farmer played his 100th career game on Jan. 7 against Manhattan, and senior red-shirt guard Louie McCroskey played his 100th career game at Bucknell on Nov. 28. Matt Brady coached his 100th game with the Red Foxes on Dec. 5 at Canisius.

GAVIN'S GREATNESS: Freshman guard Jay Gavin put together a streak of five consecutive 20-point games in January. In that span, he averaged 21.6 points per game while shooting .532 (33-62) from the field, .556 (25-45) from three-point range and .810 (17-21) from the free-throw line. Prior to Gavin's streak, the last Marist true freshman to score 20 in a game was Carl Hood (20 vs. Canisius, 3/7/03).

FEWER BOARDS: Marist was outrebounded by 15 at Loyola on Jan. 17, the largest margin the Red Foxes have been outrebounded by in a game this season.

ANOTHER AWARD: Marist freshman guard Jay Gavin was named MAAC Rookie of the Week on Jan. 14, the third consecutive week he earned at least a share of the award and fourth overall on the season.

ON TARGET: The Red Foxes had a streak of three games with at least 10 three-pointers. Marist hit a season-high 13 threes vs. Fairfield on Jan. 13, 11 vs. Saint Peter's on Jan. 11 and 10 vs. Manhattan on Jan. 7. In those three games, Marist shot .459 (34-74) from three-point range.

EXCELLENT FIRST HALF: Marist's 49 points in the first half against Saint Peter's on Jan. 11 was a season-high, as was the Red Foxes' 22-point halftime lead.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!: The Dec. 1 game against Wright State marked Marist's last home game of the 2007 calendar year, and the Jan. 7 game at the McCann Center vs. Manhattan was the Red Foxes' first since then. The 36-day stretch between home games was the longest in program history, and the six straight games the Red Foxes played away from home in this span tied a program record.

THAT'S A FIRST: Marist's win at Rider on Jan. 4 marked the first time this season the Red Foxes won despite having a lower shooting percentage than the opponent. The Red Foxes went .468 (29-62) from the field, while Rider was .484 (31-64).

MCCROSKEY LAUDED: Red-shirt senior guard Louie McCroskey was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Aeropostale Holiday Festival after averaging 15.0 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting .500 from the field in Marist's two games.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU: Marist freshman guard Jay Gavin celebrated his 18th birthday on Dec. 28 with a team-high 15 points against St. John's, with 11 coming in the second half and eight in a span of 2:24 as Marist erased a late 11-point deficit.

RETURN TO HOLIDAY FESTIVAL: Marist's appearance at the Holiday Festival was its second in program history, as the Red Foxes fell to St. John's before downing Hofstra in the consolation game. Marist previously appeared in the Holiday Festival in the 1987-88 season, when the Red Foxes were defeated by St. John's and Memphis.

SPLITTING THE TRIP: This year, for just the second time since joining the MAAC, Marist did not play MAAC foes Canisius and Niagara on the same road trip. The only previous time this happened was the 2001-02 season, when Marist fell to Canisius before winning at Niagara 10 days later. Marist won at Canisius on Dec. 5, and fell at Niagara on Dec. 22. The Red Foxes have never won at Canisius and at Niagara in the same year.

ON THE DOUBLE: By having three double-digit scorers against UMass on Dec. 8 (Louie McCroskey, Jay Gavin and Ryan Stilphen), the Red Foxes snapped a streak of eight straight games with two or fewer double-digit scorers.

A-10 TOUR: Marist has faced three Atlantic-10 opponents this season. The Red Foxes fell to Temple (73-69, OT) on Nov. 18, downed Richmond (64-62) on Nov. 24 and suffered a loss to UMass (83-68) on Dec. 8.

MOHEGAN SUN MAGIC: Marist's game vs. UMass on Dec. 8 marked the first time the Red Foxes played at Mohegan Sun Arena in program history.

FOR STARTERS: By winning at Canisius on Dec. 5, Marist improved to 9-2 overall in MAAC openers.

MCCROSKEY'S EFFORTS: The 24 points tallied by red-shirt senior guard Louie McCroskey against Wright State on Dec. 1 marked a season high for any Red Fox. McCroskey shot 10-for-19 from the field, 3-for-8 from three-point range and 1-for-1 from the free-throw line. It was the first 20-point game of McCroskey's career; his previous career high was 18. McCroskey's point total was the highest by a Red Fox since Will Whittington had 31 in Marist's First Round NIT victory at Oklahoma State on March 13, 2007.

CUTTING THE TURNOVERS: Against Wright State on Dec. 1, the Red Foxes finished with a season-low seven turnovers.

RECOGNITION FOR GAVIN: Freshman guard Jay Gavin was named MAAC Co-Rookie of the Week on Nov. 26 after averaging 7.0 points, 4.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds in Marist's victories over Colgate and Richmond. On Nov. 30, Gavin was mentioned by Kyle Whelliston in a story on ESPN.com as an "impact freshman."

DEFENSE!: The Red Foxes won at Bucknell 55-40 on Nov. 28. It was the lowest point total Marist has held a Division I team to in its history, and it was the fewest points the Red Foxes had permitted since a 69-34 win over Suffolk on Nov. 26, 1985. With 10 points, Marist's Ryan Stilphen was the contest's lone double-digit scorer.

HEADING OUTSIDE THE U.S.: By playing three games in the ESPNU O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off, Marist played outside the United States for the first time in program history. The Red Foxes fell to Miami (Fla.), Houston and Temple.

SPONGY'S BLOCK PARTY: With five blocks in the first three games of the season, it did not take long for senior center Spongy Benjamin to exceed last year's total of four. Benjamin had a career-high three blocks against Houston on Nov. 16.

STILPHEN'S MILESTONE DAY: Marist senior red-shirt forward Ryan Stilphen pulled down his 500th career rebound, recorded his 100th career assist and notched his 50th career steal against Delaware on Nov. 11.

SUCCESS IN FIRST STARTS: Senior center Spongy Benjamin and red-shirt freshman guard Dejuan Goodwin each made the first start of their careers against Delaware on Nov. 11, and both ended up taking home Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference awards as a result of their performances. Benjamin set career highs in points (21), rebounds (17), blocked shots (2) and minutes (31). He was named MAAC Player of the Week. Playing in his first collegiate game, Goodwin had 13 points, four rebounds and a steal in 22 minutes. He was named MAAC Rookie of the Week.

SUCCESS IN HOME OPENERS: With their 89-78 victory over Delaware on Nov. 11, the Red Foxes have now won nine of their last 10 home openers. This season marked the first time opened at home since the 2004-05 campaign, which was Matt Brady's first as head coach of the Red Foxes.

THAT'S A LOT TO REPLACE: The Red Foxes lost one of their most prolific classes in program history with the departure of Jared Jordan, Will Whittington, James Smith, Miles Orman and Dave Magarity, Jr. Marist also lost Gerald Carter, who transferred to Division II Southern New Hampshire.

BUT HELP IS HERE: The Red Foxes have nine new faces this season, including four true freshmen (Korey Bauer, Jeremiah Bowman, Jay Gavin, Geno Romanelli), two red-shirt freshmen (Dejuan Goodwin, Lawrence Williams) and three transfers (David Devezin, Louie McCroskey, Ryan Schneider).

HISTORIC STRETCH: The 44 wins Marist has posted the last two seasons is the highest total the Red Foxes have accumulated over a two-year stretch in program history.

COMBINED SUCCESS: By capturing the men's and women's MAAC regular season crowns last year, Marist became the first MAAC school to accomplish the feat since the 2002-03 season (Manhattan). Marist also set MAAC records for the men and women combined for overall victories (54) and regular-season conference victories (31).

EARNING TENURE: Head Coach Matt Brady, who is in his fourth season at Marist, is tied for second in tenure among Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference coaches. The only coach in the MAAC who has been at his current post longer is Niagara's Joe Mihalich, who is in his 10th season. Loyola's Jimmy Patsos is also in his fourth season. Five of the 10 head coaches in the conference are either in their first or second season at their respective schools.

GOING NATIONAL: The Red Foxes have six regular season games on the ESPN family of networks. All three of Marist's games in the ESPNU O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off were televised on ESPNU, as will the Red Foxes' home game against Siena (Feb. 8, ESPNU, road game vs. Manhattan (Feb. 15, ESPNU) and BracketBusters game at Cleveland State (Feb. 23, ESPNU). Marist's two games in the Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden aired on MSG, and the Red Foxes will play twice on the MAAC Television Network. All Marist home games not televised regionally and nationally will air locally on Time Warner Cable 6.

MILESTONES ON AIR: This year marks the 30th for Marist radio broadcaster Ed Weir on the Marist airwaves, and 25th year of association on with the Marist program on television and/or radio for broadcaster Dean Darling.

MCCROSKEY, STILPHEN LAUDED: Red-shirt senior guard Louie McCroskey and red-shirt senior forward Ryan Stilphen were both selected Preseason Second Team All-MAAC.

RED FOXES PICKED FIFTH: Marist was chosen to finish fifth in the preseason MAAC coaches' poll. Siena was selected to finish first. The Saints and Loyola, which was picked second, each received five first-place votes.

THIS YEAR'S CAPTAINS: Seniors Ben Farmer, Shae McNamara and Ryan Stilphen have been named captains for the 2007-08 season.

2006-07 SUCCESS: Last season, Marist set a program record for wins (25), won its first outright MAAC regular-season championship in program history and earned its first postseason victory in program history -- a 67-64 win at Oklahoma State in the NIT. Jared Jordan became the first Red Fox to be named MAAC Player of the Year, and Matt Brady earned MAAC Coach of the Year honors. Prior to the season-opening game against Delaware, Marist's NIT and MAAC regular-season championship banners from last season were unveiled.