Over and Out

Two weeks, three big games, and zero wins to show. That was the story last night at McCann as the Marist Red Foxes suffered a devastating overtime loss to arch rival Siena on ESPNU. The loss was the Foxes 3rd straight (Rider, Siena, Siena) dropping them into a 4th place tie in the MAAC standings.

The Red Foxes failed to take advantage of the key part of their schedule, they began the stretch in first place and after the loss Friday, find themselves in the middle of the conference. Now at 8-5, they will have to battle through the remaining games of MAAC play to get at least the 4th seed for the tournament (I say at least because that is what they'll need to have any chance in March).

However, they HAVE been playing extremely hard and extremely well against heavily talented teams and last night's game was by far the Foxes most exciting game since they knocked off the Saints last year in Overtime Thriller Part I.

A raucous, whiteout, sellout crowd saw six ties and six lead changes at McCann, where the energy is like no other in the MAAC. The Red Foxes charged a thunderous comeback, trailing at one point 25-12 and cutting the deficit to 4 before the end of the first.

In the second, Marist could not hold on to a 7 point lead and guard Kenny Hasbrouck killed the Red Foxes down the stretch. With his game high 35 points, Hasbrouck had the game-tying bucket in the final seconds and stole the ball from Jay Gavin with 2.2 left to send it into OT. In the extra period, Hasbrouck led the way with two dagger 3's as the Saints outlasted Marist 97-88.

The crowd was electric and deafening the entire game and the 'McCann Crazys' were tough on Siena players. "There was a lot of energy," Hasbrouck told the Poughkeepsie Journal. "The fans were talking a lot."

But Hasbrouck and the Saints got the final say as Siena won for only the second time in 9 years at McCann.

The Red Foxes have come a long way since the start of the season and as of late, have been going toe-to-toe with better teams (Rider, Siena). The growth is surprising considering how young their guards are. However, while Goodwin and Gavin have played well and really helped the Foxes the last couple weeks, their turnovers have also killed them.

Last night the two had a combined 7 turnovers.....the entire Siena team only had 8 for the game. The Red Foxes for the game had 18 ... that was your ballgame, that was the difference.

"The turnovers are bizarre to me," Brady told the Poughkeepsie Journal. It's an Achilles heel with this group. I'll give you my e-mail address, if you have an answer for it, hit me up."