ALBANY, N.Y. — Amar’e Marshall didn’t single-handedly beat the Siena men’s basketball team at MVP Arena on Sunday.
It just seemed like it, at times.
In fact, when he made a 3-pointer with 7:11 left in the Albany Cup, UAlbany’s 6-foot-4 redshirt sophomore guard, a transfer from Hofstra, trailed the entire Saints roster in scoring by just eight points, 39-31. That 3 gave the Great Danes a 67-39 lead on the way to running Siena off its home floor, 86-51.
Marshall finished with 33, becoming just the second player to hit the 30 mark in the Albany Cup, since the first one in 2001, when UAlbany’s E.J. Gallup scored 36.
The Great Danes took advantage of a ragged performance by the Saints, even as Siena (1-5) regained the services of its starting backcourt, Michel Eley, who had missed four games with an ankle injury, and Zek Tekin, who had been in the concussion protocol for two games.
Marshall took advantage of pretty much whatever was offered by Siena’s defense, making 13 of 20 field goals in 31-plus minutes.
This, from a player who did not make a field goal in seven attempts in the season opener, a 92-71 loss at UMass less than three weeks ago.
“The first game, I kind of was down on myself, and I give all the credit to my coaches and my teammates,” Marshall said. They put the confidence in me and all know what I can do, so they picked me up and told me, ’Next game, just keep going.'”
“I don’t know what he ended up with, but, really, it’s just confidence with him,” teammate Sebastian Thomas said. ”I think he’s one of the best scorers in the conference, if not the best, and a real big piece to our team, so if he keeps playing like this, I think we have a big chance.”
Marshall scored 12 in the first half as UAlbany (3-3) took a 28-23 lead, then the Great Danes exploded right out of the locker room in the second half.
That included a thunderous dunk by Marshall, who sliced through the defense out of UAlbany’s halfcourt offense, for a 33-23 lead. Just over a minute later, he made a 3 from the right corner to extend the lead to 38-23, and Siena head coach Carm Maciariello called timeout.
Marshall’s previous single-game scoring high had been 24 points, in an 85-66 Hofstra loss to No. 4-ranked Purdue last year. He equaled that against the Great Danes with a 3-pointer midway through the second half, then topped it with a breakaway throwdown dunk for a 58-35 lead.
“That’s what I’m working for, being a three-level scorer,” Marshall said. “Attacking the defense and taking what they give you is what I’m looking for.”
“Credit to Albany. I apologize to our fans that showed up and the alums,” Maciariello said. ”Amar’e Marshall was the best player on the floor. He had 33, and a very efficient 33.”
Marshall made three of five 3-pointers, made all four of his free throws and also led UAlbany with eight rebounds.
After redshirting his first season with Hofstra, Marshall played in 28 games in 2022-23 with just three starts, including the Purdue game, on a team that went 25-10 and made it to the second round of the NIT.
He showed flashes of being a scorer at Hofstra, while averaging 12.5 minutes per game.
On Sunday, he established himself as the biggest scoring threat for a Great Danes team that looks much improved from the one that went 8-23 last year.
Bad punctuation and grammar, disagree: marshal aint dominating from no bleachers thats just stupid he just sits there not even playing.
Good punctuation and grammar, uncaring: Perhaps Marshall’s presence on the court or bleachers is not the defining factor for the game’s outcome. I’m just interested in a good game of basketball.