Friday, February 29th, 7:30 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: McCann Center (3,944) -- Poughkeepsie, New York. Television: None. Home Record: Iona 6-5, Marist 8-2. Away Record: Iona 5-11, Marist 6-7. Neutral Record: Iona 0-2, Marist 1-4. Conference Record: Iona 7-9, Marist 9-7. Series Record: Iona leads, 25-12.

GAME NOTES: The Marist Red Foxes will try to snap out of their slump tonight, as they entertain the Iona Gaels in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference affair at the McCann Center. The Red Foxes have struggled over the last month or so, dropping three straight and six of their past seven outings. On Saturday, Marist stepped out of league play and wrapped up a four-game road trip with a 59-44 setback at Cleveland State. Now at 15-13 overall, the team returns back home, where it has gone a solid 8-2 thus far. As for Iona, it has had some struggles of its own, losing three of its last four games. The team was most recently in action on Saturday, when it suffered an 81-63 loss to non-league foe Hofstra. With an 11-18 overall mark now, the Gaels turn their focus to MAAC action, where they have logged a 7-9 ledger. Iona leads the all-time series with Marist, 25-12, but the Red Foxes took the first meeting of the season by a 59-50 score.

The Gaels were held to a sub par 35.8 percent shooting effort from the floor, as they were downed by Hofstra over the weekend. Iona also struggled on defense, allowing Hofstra to make 55.0 percent of its chances from the field and 8-of-15 from three-point range. Dexter Gray guided the team in the setback with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Gary Springer also finished with 17 points. For the season, Gray leads the club in scoring at 11.6 ppg and he is also collecting 5.3 rpg. Springer tops the club in rebounding at 7.5 rpg and he also chips in with 10.8 ppg. As a whole, the Gaels are putting forth 65.3 ppg behind 42.9 percent shooting from the field for the season.

The Red Foxes shot a season-low 39.6 percent from the floor, as they were defeated by Cleveland State this past weekend. The team went a dismal 3-of-20 from beyond the arc, in addition to converting just 9-of-17 free-throw attempts. Ryan Stilphen guided Marist with nine points and 10 rebounds, while Jay Gavin was limited to just two points a poor 1-of-9 shooting from the floor. Despite the poor effort and not having started a single game, Gavin leads the Red Foxes in scoring for the season at 12.5 ppg. He has done most his damage from three-point range, hitting on 40.5 percent of his attempts. As a team, Marist is shooting 38.3 percent from long distance and that has helped it to score 69.7 ppg.

Marist has struggled of late, but with a much improved shooting performance, look for it to grab a win tonight.

Predicted Outcome

Marist 69, Iona 64