Monday, December 10, 2007

Sloppy Play Ends Win Streak

The Marist Red Foxes had an unlucky night at the Mohegan Sun Arena Saturday, falling to UMass 83-68 and ending their win streak at 5. The Red Foxes had trouble taking care of the ball and effectively running the offense all night, as they marked a season high in turnovers with 22.

To add insult to injury, they shot an embarrassing 8 for 18 from the free throw line and played an undisciplined game defensively; excessively fouling the Minute Men who took advantage of their 37 free throw attempts (23-37) .... 27 attempts coming in the second half.

Perhaps the major turning point came late in the game when Marist Head Coach Matt Brady was hit with a Technical Foul for arguing with an official. The tech seemly changed the momentum of the game and could have hurt the Foxes comeback efforts....In Brady's defense, their were a lot of "unusual" calls in what was an overall poor officiating job.

Despite poor play and lack of execution, the effort was there for the Red Foxes (6-4) as this was a game they could have and probably should have won. One highlight was the continued emergence of guard Louie McCroskey who filled up the stat sheet with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 steals.

The Red Foxes will have a long break (if Finals Exams are considered a break) before facing MAAC rival Niagara on the road 3 days before Christmas. That game is followed by the much anticipated match-up with St. Johns at The Garden on the 28th.

No comments: