LAWRENCEVILLE — The losses keep mounting with no sign of slowing down in this miserable season.
This time heads were dropping as Marist poured it on in the second half en route to a 71-49 victory over Rider on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium.
The Broncs (1-14, 0-6) still haven’t beaten a Division I opponent — the loan victory was over Division III Eastern on Nov. 15 — as their winless run reached 12 with a truly dreadful performance.
“Very disappointing,” coach Kevin Baggett said. “I thought that was the best we defended in the first half all year long. I thought our guys were really dialed in and knew what was going on and then this team when we face adversity, at times, we don’t always handle it the right way.”
In this one:
— They scored just four points through the game’s first 10 minutes.
— Didn’t get an offensive rebound until the 7:11 mark of the second half.
— Didn’t make a 3-pointer until the game was well over with 2:21 to play. “When they are making 3s and you are making 2s, it’s is (hard to win),” Baggett said. “… I don’t think (guys are hesitant). I don’t think we’ve ever told a guy not to shoot the ball.”
— They missed nine free throws.
— Flash Burton, who tallied a career-best 27 on Friday night at Fairfield, didn’t score and was 0-for-8. “Just because you had one good game, the next game your opponent is going to try and take you out of it,” Baggett said. Marist often trapped the ball screens to force it out of Burton’s hands and he settled for difficult jumpers.
— They failed to break 50 points for the third time this season.
For a team that finds points tough to come by — Rider ranks last or next to last nationally in just about every offensive statistic — you knew facing a John Dunne side was a tough matchup.
But the defense also crumbled in the second half after hanging in for the opening 20 minutes. You can point to the last minute of the first half when Marist rang up a pair of 3s — it was 2-for-9 prior to that — to extend the lead to nine at the break.
“You got to be a little more disciplined, you got to share the ball, too many one-on-one shots,” Baggett said. “We didn’t play as a team in the second half offensively or defensively for that matter.”
Justin Menard led a balanced attack for the Red Foxes (11-5, 5-2) with 15 points, while Rhyjon Blackwell finished with 12 and Elijah Lewis added 10.
Zion Cruz was the lone Bronc into double figures with 13 points.
Next up is a home game against Iona on Wednesday.
“I’m no quitter,” Baggett said. “I’m not used to this. I’m not used to being in this place, but we’re here. Just got to keep grinding. That’s all I know.
