Marist holds off Siena 63-58 in MAAC opener (Dec 29, 2017)
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. (AP) Ryan Funk had 15 of his 17 points in the second half and hit all four of his 3-point attempts after the break as Marist held off a late rally from Siena to win 63-58 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opener for both teams on Friday night.
Funk hit three straight 3s and 3 of 4 from the foul line to turn a 33-all tie into a 12-point lead for the Red Foxes (3-10) early in the second half. David Knudsen added a basket to cap the run at 14 straight points and a 47-33 lead, Marist's largest of the game.
The Saints (4-10) chipped away at the margin and got as close as 60-58 on Roman Penn's free throws with 44.7 seconds left.
Siena fouled to send Marist's Tobias Sjoberg to the foul line where he made 1 of 2 with 29 seconds remaining. Penn then missed a runner in the lane with 19 seconds left, and Aleksandar Dozic grabbed the rebound for Marist and passed off to Brian Parker who added two more free throws to secure the win.
Parker scored 18 and Knudsen added 13 for Marist.
Ahsante Shivers had 12 points and Penn added 11 for Siena.
