Josh Pascarelli and Jadin Collins-Roberts are the faces of Marist basketball. So with the clock running down and the Red Foxes protecting a two-point lead, looking for their biggest non-conference win of John Dunne's tenure, the two knew what needed to be done.
"I was just waiting," Pascarelli said. "I had my hands ready, I'm always shot ready. Me and Jadin made eye contact, he just gave me the ball, and I let it fly."
The time between Pascarelli's catch on the left wing, and the ball coming out of his hands toward the basket, was about half a second, but it was all he needed to stick an early dagger in a road win over Richmond.
He had a very strong freshman season, averaging 10.7 points per game and shooting 38% from three, enough to get him recognition on this season's preseason MAAC First Team. But even then, his start to the 2024-25 season feels beyond all expectations, averaging 23.7 points through three games.
When the Foxes returned home to face Army on Friday night, the tear continued.
The Black Knights defense was late to pick him up just two minutes into the game, giving him plenty of time and space to fire off his first triple of the game off a screen at the top of the key. John Dunne continued running him off screens, creating space for jump shots in all scenarios. He drained a mid-range jumper off a baseline out-of-bounds play.
Marist has a lot of options to get Collins-Roberts downhill or to get Pascarelli open looks, and using their guards together to make defenses pick their poison. In the first half, Army denied a dribble handoff for Collins-Roberts, and he flowed directly into a screen above the foul line to give Pascarelli a screen for a three.
"Give credit to coach," Pascarelli said after the Army game. "He knows what will get me open, and if it didn't get me open, somebody else is open."
The teams traded blows all the way down to the wire, including Collins-Roberts and Jalen Rucker both hitting layups in the final seconds of regulation to send the game to overtime.
As overtime wound down and the score remained tied, Pascarelli found himself in another big spot. With Army big man AJ Allenspach switched onto him, he passed the ball from the left elbow to Elijah Lewis, who drove the ball. But when Pascarelli popped out beyond the three-point line, he noticed that Allenspach stayed in.
"I was screaming at (Elijah)," he said. "I was like 'E, E, E' and he just kicked it right back to me."
Pascarelli delivered again, draining what became the game-winning three to cap off a 25-point night, just one shy of his career high.
He won't continue to shoot nearly 57% from three, but his three consecutive 20 point games to start the season have sent a message to the league. Josh Pascarelli is a MAAC superstar.
A season ago, John Gallagher walked out of Rose Hill Gymnasium having been thoroughly clobbered. In the first full game after Brett Rumpel's injury, Fordham dunked 47 points in the first half against the depleted Jaspers, and used a 12-2 and 18-2 run in the second half to open up a 93-61 victory last season.
"We were totally shook," Gallagher said on Friday of last year's loss. "We didn't have answers."
Just under a year later, with the scene flipped to Draddy Gym, Manhattan was the team in control on Friday night, leading by as many as 17 in a wire-to-wire, 78-76 victory over the Rams that truly wasn't as close as the score indicated.
It's a notable win not only for the sake of the rivalry, but coming on the heels of Fordham's upset over Seton Hall last weekend.
"When you go to places, there has to be proof of life," Gallagher said. "And we needed a proof-of-life win, we just did. This is a program win. This can propel us to really good things throughout the year."
Freshman Will Sydnor poured in 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting. His speed and ball handling ability makes him a mismatch in the halfcourt for more traditional frontcourt players, while being an absolute terror in transition.
"Will was the best player on the floor tonight," Gallagher said. "He made big shot after big shot and big play after big play."
Even when Fordham went zone in the second half, Sydnor easily crept his way into the blind spots, putting in a few baskets to push the lead out to 67-50 with under four minutes to play.
In front of a packed house, Sydnor gave the fans and students a reason to keep coming back.
"A lot of energy from the crowd," he said. "Seeing my friends that I'm in class with. Just guys come with the shoes, the shirts, everything all green, just a lot of love. They pushed us."
The Rams began to charge back, as Jackie Johnson III and Japhet Medor made a few shots, but Devin Dinkins and Jaden Winston both made two free throws when the lead was cut to four and then three, not giving Fordham a chance to tie the game.
On a quick turnaround, Manhattan stormed back from a 17-point deficit at FDU on Sunday, taking a seven-point lead with five minutes left. Sydnor starred again, scoring 22 points, but it wasn't enough to stave off the Knights' final run, as they fell 85-82.
The Jaspers will have a little bit more time to prepare for their next game, with Army coming to Draddy on Friday.
For the first time since 2016, the Albany Cup game returned to the campus of UAlbany at the recently renovated Broadview Center.
While the arena doesn't allow the Great Danes to draw the 9000-plus fans that typically attend the intracity rivalry at MVP Arena, a sell-out crowd of 3,899 helped push UAlbany over Siena 70-60.
Justice Shoats, who scored 23, 31, and 18 points in the first three games of his Division I career, was held to just seven. The 5 foot 11 guard is a high-level mid-range scorer, but struggled to get to his spots, as the Great Danes made life difficult for him.
"I thought Justice was forcing it early," Saints head coach Gerry McNamara said. "It was pretty clear that they were going to sink the paint, and I was completely content with having him be a playmaker, and it took him some time."
On key possessions, Siena just couldn't make the shots it needed to in order to stay in the game. Down by four with five minutes left, the Saints couldn't get a good look, and Brendan Coyle missed a contested three in the corner. Even when Siena got the offensive rebound, Coyle turned the ball over, wasting a crucial late-game possession.
Justin Neely didn't waste many possessions for UAlbany though. He led the Great Danes with 21 points, including a bunch of key buckets late that helped put the game away.
It was the first Albany Cup for McNamara, and he already can't wait for his chance to get revenge.
"It's good to be in these games," he said. "It makes me want to play another one tomorrow."
Canisius dropped back-to-back games over the weekend to SIU Edwardsville and Western Michigan by a combined 41 points. The Griffs are 0-5 for the first time since 2007-08, when Tom Parrotta was in his second year at the helm. They finished that season 6-25. Paul McMillan has led Canisius in scoring in four of the first five games, and was just one point off the team lead in the other one. Tana Kopa has scored in double figures in each of the first five games as well, but nobody behind those two has emerged as a scoring option. Additionally, the Griffs are 362nd out of 364 teams in defensive efficiency on KenPom, with opponents shooting nearly 62% inside the arc.
Iona brought fans off #LedgeLife for the moment with its first win of the season. The Gaels trailed Vermont by 15 in the second half, but came back thanks to Dejour Reaves and Biggie Patterson's heroics to pick up a thrilling 62-59 win. Despite a struggle from beyond the arc (20%), Reaves leads the Gaels with 15.5 points per game early on.
Quinnipiac very nearly blew a 15-point lead in the final minutes, but held on just long enough to take down Maine, 58-55, at home on Friday. It was the first Division I win of the season for the MAAC preseason favorites. MAAC Preseason Player of the Year Amarri Monroe scored 21 points to lead the way. He is currently averaging 15.2 points and three steals per game.
Merrimack built a 14-point first-half lead on Princeton, as its zone confounded the Tiger guards into a bunch of interceptions, along with getting a few triples from Tye Dorset and Matt Becht. However, Princeton stormed back to tie the game before Budd Clark gave the Warriors a two-point lead at the first-half buzzer. Clark was the only consistent source of offense in the second half as Princeton continued to adjust to the zone, picking up a 68-57 road win, and dropping Merrimack to 1-2.
Sacred Heart played three games in three days over the weekend, going 1-2 with a win over New Hampshire and losses to Holy Cross and Brown. Tanner Thomas missed the first two, but returned with 12 points on Sunday. Anquan Hill missed the final two games. The Pioneers have the 360th-ranked defense in college basketball, per KenPom, as opponents are shooting nearly 41% from three and taking more than half of their attempts from beyond the arc.
Mount St. Mary's came back from down 15 points in the second half against Bucknell, winning an absolute thriller in double overtime 93-89. They followed it up with another win, taking down Saint Francis 66-58 at home on Saturday. Sophomore guard Dallas Hobbs is averaging 17.3 points per game, a ten-point increase over last year.
Fairfield picked up its first two wins of the season, defeating New Hampshire and Division III John Jay. Southern Utah transfer Prophet Johnson leads the team in scoring (13.2), rebounding (8.5), assists (3.0), and steals (1.8).
Rider was the first team in the country to win three true road games, defeating San Diego, Coppin State, and Navy. JUCO transfer Zion Cruz made his Broncs debut against Navy after receiving his waiver. He scored 7 points in 13 minutes off the bench.
Niagara has nine days between an overtime road loss to Detroit Mercy and its next trip, with games against Bowling Green and Kent State. Winona State transfer Olumide Adelodun has been the standout player so far, averaging 16 points per game.
Saint Peter's actually ranks higher than any other MAAC team in KenPom (190), following a battle on the road at Rutgers, and an away win over UMBC. The Peacocks have gotten 15.7 points per game from Marcus Randolph, including 22 in the Rutgers game.