Must Win Tonight

I first would like to apologize for the lack of blog posts over the past couple weeks....midterms have hit hard and I have been very busy. With that, lets get back to business.

Tonight the struggling Red Foxes take on Iona at McCann in what is a desperation game for Marist. Losers 6 of their last 7, the Red Foxes are mired in a 3 game losing skid that includes a heartbreaking double overtime loss against Fairfield and an embarrassing Bracketbuster loss to Clevland State.

However, the Red Foxes return home to some good news. Louie McCroskey, the Foxes scoring-minded shooting guard will return tonight from a fractured right foot which has sidelined him since January 17 against Loyola.

Without McCroskey, the Red Foxes have lacked a go-to scorer and have had trouble filling his offensive void. Since going down, the Red Foxes MAAC dreams have as well, as they have gone 4-6 and have dropped in the standings from 1st to 6th.

McCroskey, since transferring from 'Cuse has been a bit of a disappointment. The highly talented senior guard has missed significant time this season with injury's and eligibility issues. However, his return is more then welcomed for the Foxes, as their MAAC tournament hopes hinge on his ability to be the consistent scoring threat he can be (see Holiday tournament at the Garden) and help rejuvenate a lifeless Marist team.

With two game left (Iona tonight and Loyola for Sunday's Senior Day) the 6th place Foxes need to win both. At the moment they are only 2/12 games out of first in the crowded MAAC, and while a first place finish is impossible, if the Red Foxes can win out they could end up with a 4 or 5 seed heading into the tournament.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Under Review

Yeah its old news...but February 19 double overtime loss to was filled with terrible calls, including one that cost the Red Foxes the game. With 2.6 left and the game tied at 72, a Fairfield player called for what was an obvious time out and the official blew his whistle. The only problem was that Fairfield had no more time outs, and instead of the ref calling a technical foul, Chris Webber style, he decided to meet up with his fellow refs and come up with an alternate reason to why he blew the whistle...and he did, sending the game into OT.

If the right call is made on that play, the Red Foxes almost certainly win the game on a couple foul shots(like James Smith last season) which would have given then an all important MAAC win and certainly a boost of confidence which they have been lacking down the stretch of the season.

Also, the clocks stopped on a play in the final moments of the game, giving the Stags more time to score. On a another play, a foul was called agaisnt Stilfphen on a Han 3-point shot...the only problem was Stilf was the one who came away with a bloody nose.....Conspiracy anyone?

"WE WANT SIENA!"

With the game winding down and the Marist Red Foxes seconds away from defeating MAAC powerhouse Niagara, a loud roar of "We Want Siena" echoed throughout the packed bleachers of McCann. The 84-65 blow out win, moved the Red Foxes into sole possession of second place in the conference (12-7 overall; 6-2 MAAC) , trailing only the surging Saints of Siena for MAAC supremacy

With such a dominating win, that included a lock down defense and an offense that shot 50% from the field, I think its time that we change some of the low pre-season predictions for this Marist team and raise the bar of where they stand in this conference.... say right at the top with Siena? Yes, I know that it is only one win on one night, but it is important to look at who they beat and how they beat them.

Last Nights 'D'
Leading by as many as 21 and controlling the game the entire second half, the Red Foxes made Niagara look flat out inferior, similar to the beatings the Marist women's team hands out on a nightly basis. The Foxes held the nations second- leading scorer Charron Fisher (that's right, the entire nation) to a hard fought 17 points, on a terrible 4-21 shooting. It was the first time all season he was held to under 20 points for a game. In fact, as a team the Purple Eagles were held to a mere 27% shooting from the field.

Last Nights 'O'
With Louie McCroskey most likely done for the season (will get to that later) the Red Foxes wasted no time picking up the slack for their fallen teammate. As a tribute to how deep and how balanced this Red Fox team really is, Brady went with a 10 man rotation last night and it paid off big time. The Red Foxes had 5 double digit scores (led by a break out performance from Dejuan Goodwin who had 14 points on 5-6 shooting) and two others scored 9 point. One of the 9 point performances went to Ryan Schneider, who finally got out of Brady's doghouse and showed what he can really do. Schneider hit a couple of pure 3's that had all of Red Fox Nation thinking 'Will the Thrill' was back for another year. Sidenote: See "Play Ryan Schneider" a few blogs down and I'll say I told you so.

Putting last nights big time win aside, it is important to note the tear the Red Foxes have been on in recent weeks. Winners of 6 of their last 7, Marist has come together and 'rebuilt' faster then anyone has expected while continuing their dominance at home where they are undefeated for the this year. With the exception of a hard fought loss to MAAC rival Loyola, the Red Foxes in recent weeks have proven that they are legit contenders and are ready to take on SienaMAAC crown. The only problem of course is....they don't play the Saints until next month. So until then, it is important for the Foxes to continue taking care of business in the MAAC, starting with Thursday's match up with Iona.

Siena Saints
Winners of 4 straight Siena is atop of the MAAC and improved to 7-1 after last nights beating of Canisius. Siena has a very deep team and usually works with a 10 man rotation. Led by guard Kenny Hasbrouck (who lit up Marist last year in the MAAC tourney), the Saints have some serious talent that has already gotten national exposure this season. The Saints have played some top notch teams such as Memphis, Standford (who they upset) and Syracuse (who they almost upset) and are the hands down favorites to come out of the MAAC for the NCAA Tournament.

But if Marist continues to click and play the way they have been play in recent weeks, there is no telling what can happen. Remember there is still a long way to go....and come March ANYTHING can happen....ask Jared, Will and Smith.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
McCroskey Done For the Year?

That's the report that is slowly coming out of coach Brady's locker room. The red-shirt senior star is said to have fractured a bone in his right ankle and is out for 4-6 weeks. It is still unknown if he will be ready for the MAAC tournament, but signs did not look good last night as McCroskey sat on the bench in his familiar street clothes.

Since joining the Red Foxes last year by way of Syracuse, McCroskey has been a bit of a disappointment. Having sat out all of last year, he missed the first 3 games of the season with an undisclosed eligibility problem and will likely miss the remainder of them. At times, the Bronx product has shown his potential (see Holiday Tournament at the Garden) but unfortunately it has all come too little too late for him. Having used up all of his eligibility, McCroskey is a senior and this is his final season in the NCAA.

At this time details are sketchy to how the injury happened and how serious it is....but for Red Fox Nation this is a serious blow...not all games will go as smoothly as last nights.

McCroskey Pushes Foxes 4-ward

Bronx product Louie McCroskey led the Marist Red Foxes to their 4th straight win Saturday, putting up career highs in what was a 79-64 thumping of Wright State. The red-shirt guard by way of Syracuse had a break out performance scoring 24 points on 10-19 shooting while grabbing 8 boards and going 3-3 from downtown.

However, it was a total team effort in front of a packed crowd at the McCann Center, with 10 Marist players cracking the scoring column. Jay Gavin (10 pts), Spongy Benjamin (9 redounds), David Devezin(8 pts, 7 assists), and Shea McNamara( 8pts, 5 rebounds) all had solid games leading to what coach Matt Brady called a "great team victory."

With the win the Red Foxes move to 5-3 and avenge what was a disappointing loss to Wright State last season.

The success of this 4 game win streak has been the result of the Red Foxes intense and at times dominate defensive effort, which during this strech, has seen the Red Foxes give up their lowest point total since 1985. However, as seen on Saturday, the Red Foxes are also starting to click on the offensive end, with players up and down this deep roster contrbuting to the scoring effort.

"Everyone who got into the game played really hard, played really really well, played smart," Coach Matt Brady told the Poughkeepsie Journal. "This is really what I think our team can do, (have a high-scoring offense)...I think we can get into the high 70s."

After a slow start to the season highlighted by a 3 game losing streak in San Juan, the Red Foxes have come together over the past couple weeks and have shown their potential in this 'post-Jordan' era. With a new wave of athletic talent to complement Brady's winning system, the Red Foxes finally seem to be meshing and are becoming more confident and unitied as a team. The 4 game win streak, if anything, has proven that the Red Foxes are not rebuilding and when playing together, can be a real threat in the conference.

But they have yet to play a conference game and Wednesday's match-up against MAAC rival Canisius will be an important and telling test for the Red Foxes to see where they stand in the MAAC.