POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Reserve Ricardo Wright hit back-to-back threes including the go-ahead triple with 44 seconds to go as Marist edged Siena Basketball 55-54 at McCann Arena.
Aidan Carpenter and
Jackson Stormo scored 12 points apiece to pace the Saints whose program record eight-game road win streak was snapped.
Raheim Sullivan scored a game-high 13 points for Marist (9-6, 7-6) which is off to the program's best start in 13 years, and drew even with Siena (7-2, 7-2) in the win column in conference action. Wright added a trio of threes for nine points off the bench for the Red Foxes.
Carpenter provided a spark off the bench, shooting 5-8 from the field for the Saints who shot just 36.8% including only 26.9% (7-26) from three. Meanwhile Stormo was 5-6, while adding seven rebounds.
Marist led throughout the first half and by as much as a dozen at 26-14 at the 3:30 mark. Siena rallied to close the half, finishing on an 8-1 flurry to pull within 27-22 at the break.
The Saints rattled off nine unanswered points during an inspired spurt midway through the second half, to claim their first lead at 40-37 on a Carpenter three with 9:52 remaining.The contest remained tight down the stretch, with Siena claiming as much as a modest five-point cushion at 54-49 on a tough
Jalen Pickett turnaround with 2:19 left.
But, after the Saints missed an open three to potentially go up eight with 1:36 to go, Wright hit back-to-back threes to put the Red Foxes back on top for good. Pickett, who last year beat Marist at McCann Arena on a tough step-back jumper at the buzzer, had a similar look to win it again on the final possession, but this time his shot was off the mark.
Pickett finished with nine points, while
Manny Camper added seven points, 11 rebounds, and five assists. The duo scored all their points in the second half in another tight contest between the programs in Poughkeepsie. The last 11 meetings in the Hudson Valley have now been decided by an average of just 4.4 points.
Siena will look to secure a series split Sunday with the rematch set for 3 p.m. on ESPN3.
