"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.
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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.

High 5

The Marist Red Foxes continued their winning ways in Buffalo Wednesday defeating Canisius 63-53, marking their 5th straight victory in what was Matt Brady's 100th game as head coach(69-31). The Red Foxes started MAAC play on a strong note, knocking off their conference rivals (in a game that was closer then it should have been) and moving to 1-0 in the MAAC and 6-3 overall.

Marist starter off hot right from the opening tip, scoring the games first 11 points and never looking back. However, the Red Foxes at one point were mired in a 6 minute 40 second scoring drought, allowing Canisius to climb back and tie the game. The Red Foxes also struggled from the free throw line for much of the game shooting 3-12 before 3 clutch free throws by Senior guard Ben Farmer set the tone for Gavin, Goodwin and McCroskey who all iced their foul shots down the stretch, sealing the deal for the Red Foxes.

This victory was all about the Defense, which has been the key for the Red Foxes all season. Showing a more athletic core then last years group, the Red Foxes in this game and throughout this winning streak have played excellent half court defense, clamping down on the oppositions biggest scoring threats. Their high energy man with effective switches to zone have proven to be too much to handle for many teams and despite some troubles on the offensive end, the D on this night was way too much to handle for winless Canisius.
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Jordan to Play in Lithuania
Former Marist star Jared Jordan is back in the pros...but this time he will have to travel across the world to play in Lithuania, signing on with BC Lietuvos Rytas.

Jordan, who was drafted 45th in last years NBA draft by the LA Clippers was traded to the troubled New York Knicks over the summer and cut from their guard filled roster before the season.

Jordan, led the nation in assists in both his junior and senior year and was the first Marist player to be play in the NBA since Rik Smits. He is Marist's all- time assist leader with 813 and 6th in scoring with 1,583 points.

An undisclosed source has said that Jordan is set to make $125,000 a year.
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Catch a Ride to Mohegan Sun
Hit the road with the Red Foxes this Saturday as they travel to the Mohegan Sun to face UMass.
The College Activities Office, in conjunction with the Athletics Department, will be providing a bus for students that would like to go. The cost is $5 per student and includes bus transportation along with a ticket to the game. The bus will leave the McCann Center parking lot at 3:30 p.m. and return after the game.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

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.