Marist holds off Saint Peter's, advances to first MAAC Tournament final as 11-seed

ATLANTIC CITY - March Madness is coming a bit earlier than usual to Marist, which is pretty good for the Red Foxes, considering they weren't expected to experience any of the buzz at all.

There will be no sequel to the Strut of Destiny this season.

It's the red-hot Red Foxes' time, as they've risen from the bottom seed in the MAAC Tournament to first time MAAC tournament finalists.

Despite its struggles during the regular season, Marist is amid an impressive run. It held off a furious rally by the Peacocks to win, 69-57, and advance to Saturday's championship lineup.

"You preach things to them, but at the end of the day, it's up to them to buy in or not buy in," Marist coach John Dunne said. "To keep great spirit or not keep great spirit to come to work every day even though you lost three in a row to try and get better because we kept saying we have enough in this room to win in the tournament. They showed great character this year, and we did get better every day even though wins and losses weren't showing it. We're really excited and I'm super proud of them."

MAAC semis: Iona surges past Niagara in the other MAAC Tournament semifinal game

Preview: Iona eyes MAAC title redemption; 2023 tournament preview

MAAC Tournament: 2023 MAAC Tournament schedule, scores, results

The Red Foxes quickly built a double-digit lead from opening tip. Saint Peter's didn't hit its first shot of the game until approximately six minutes in.

Marist rode the momentum of its hot start, which became a commanding 41-20 halftime lead.

The Peacocks had a much improved second half, mounting the defensive pressure with hopes to create a comeback.

Saint Peter's trailed by as much as 21, a deficit that was carved all the way down to a three-point margin while the Red Foxes had long stretches without a basket, including a six-minute drought.

Unfortunately for the Peacocks, turnovers and misses down the stretch prevented them from overtaking the Red Foxes, who held on for the wire-to-wire win.

"Staying together and staying the course," Marist guard Javon Cooley said of the key to the Red Foxes' run. "Staying resilient, we showed it throughout the season multiple times when we went down against teams, we always fought back. We always just had each other's back and just kept going, kept pushing and we showed that tonight."

Saint Peter's missed key free throws down the stretch

After trimming the Marist lead to three with an Dasher basket at the 3:49 mark, the Peacocks proceeded to miss the front end of a one-and-one, and Mouhamed Sow missed a pair of free throws.

Marist responded with a momentum-deflating three-pointer by Gardner, which gave the Red Foxes cushioning.

"That's the shot you practice in your driveway during summer nights," Gardner said. "I'm just confident in myself for that shot. I felt like it was a big moment. I was open, and it was a good pass by Noah too, he trusted me and that's all about our team. I know if I was dribbling up, and he was open, I know he would have knocked it down too."

Meanwhile, Saint Peter's went the final 3:49 without a made shot.

"First half, (Marist) basically never missed a shot, but then super kudos to my guys who showed unbelievable fight, toughness and grit to make the game in the second half and get it within three," Saint Peter's coach Bashir Mason said. "Unfortunately, we couldn't finish it off, but I couldn't be more proud of the group I coached all season."

Patrick Gardner had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Red Foxes. Isaiah Brickner, Javon Cooley and Noah Harris each had 10 points.

For Saint Peter's, Jaylen Murray had 14 points, four rebounds and three assists. Mouhamed Sow had 10 points and eight rebounds. Kyle Cardaci and Jaylen Saddler each had eight points.

Historic MAAC Tournament run

Not only will it be Marist's first MAAC Tournament finals appearance, but it will also be the first time that a double-digit seed has reached the championship game in the tournament's history. It is also the first bottom-seed to reach a final.

Marist's last trip to a conference final was the NEC final was the 1992 final, which it lost to Robert Morris. Its last NCAA appearances were back to back trips in 1986 and 1987.

While a deeper dive into the record books will be needed, it's possible that this the first time the lowest-seeded team has to play the highest-seeded team in a conference championship final in college basketball.

Dunne is the second coach in conference history to take two different teams to the MAAC Tournament final.

The Red Foxes will play top-seeded Iona on Saturday, at 7:30 p.m.

"We lost twice to them, but it's always how you bounce back," Gardner said of Iona. "We trust the coaching staff and the things we need to fix. We believe, it doesn't matter what seed they are. We're going to come ready to play. Neutral site, this is everything — most college basketball players dream for a moment like this so we're gonna give it our all."

Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay.

This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Marist basketball defeats Saint Peter's to reach MAAC Tournament final