The 1986–87 Marist Red Foxes men's basketball team represented

Marist College Marist College is a private university in Poughkeepsie, New York. Founded in 1905, Marist was formed by the Marist Brothers, a Catholic religious institute, to prepare brothers for their vocations as educators. In 2003, it became a secular in ...

in the

1986–87 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 1986–87 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1986 and ended with the Final Four in New Orleans, Louisiana on March 30, 1987. Major rule changes Beginning in 1986–87, the following rules changes were implemented: * ...

. The Red Foxes, led by first-year head coach

Dave Magarity David William Magarity (born January 26, 1950) is an American college basketball coach who most recently was the head coach of the Army Black Knights women's basketball team. He previously served as the head men's basketball coach at St. Francis ...

, played their home games at the James J. McCann Recreation Center in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

as members of the ECAC Metro Conference. They finished the season 20–11, 15–1 in ECACM play, finishing in first place and winning the ECAC regular season championship. As the No. 1 seed in the ECAC tournament, they advanced to the championship game, where they defeated second-seeded

Fairleigh Dickinson Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

64–55 in overtime to win the school's second consecutive ECAC Metro men's basketball tournament title. The Red Foxes earned the automatic bid to the 1986 NCAA tournament, receiving a 14 seed in the West region. They were defeated in the first round 68–93 by No. 12

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Coaching change

In May 1986, several Marist players met with senior college administrators to discuss their complaints about the handling of the team by head coach

Matthew Furjanic Jr. Matthew Furjanic Jr. (born October 26, 1950) is an American basketball coach. He was head coach for Robert Morris University men's basketball team between 1979 and 1984, Marist College men's basketball from 1984 to 1986, the Pitt Greensburg Bobca ...

Several of them indicated they would not return for the 1986–87 if Furjanic, who had one year left on his contract, remained as head coach. Furjanic took over for Marist in the fall of 1984 after the forced resignation of 5-month term coach Mike Perry, who admitted committing violations of NCAA rules by offering extra benefits to a player to mask allegations and complaints of sexual advances towards the prospective recruit. Furjanic would step down a couple weeks later, citing personal reasons. On June 10, 1986, Marist hired former Saint Francis (PA) head coach

to replace him.

NCAA Penalties

While the NCAA was investigating the self reported violations of 1984, 2 days before the 1986–87 season was to begin, the NCAA declared

Rik Smits Rik Smits (born 23 August 1966), nicknamed "the Dunking Dutchman" is a Dutch former professional basketball player who spent his entire career with the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The center was drafted by the ...

Miroslav Pecarski Miroslav Pecarski ( sr-cyr, Мирослав Пецарски; born 21 March 1967) is a Serbian former professional basketball player. He played professionally for KK Partizan, Partizan, Aris B.C., Aris, Panathinaikos B.C., Panathinaikos, Panionio ...

, and Rudy Bourgarel ineligible because the NCAA said that Mike Perry illegally recruited them for Marist. The NCAA Council's subcommittee on eligibility issued a decision that Pecarski and Bourgarel's violations were minor, and their suspensions would last seven games, although stats seem to indicate it was reduced to four. Smits, facing a complete season suspension, was eventually decided on nine games. Without Smits, Marist started the season 3–6, and losing the first game he returned to.

Previous season

The Red Foxes finished the 1985–86 season 19–12, 11–5 in ECACM play to finish in second place. As the No. 2 seed in the ECAC tournament, they advanced to the championship game, where they defeated top-seeded

57–56 in overtime to win the school's first ECAC Metro men's basketball tournament title. The Red Foxes earned the automatic bid to the 1986 NCAA tournament, receiving a 15 seed in the Southeast region. They were defeated in the first round 53–68 by No. 6

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

Roster

Schedule and results

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1986-87 Marist Red Foxes men's basketball team Marist Red Foxes men's basketball seasons Marist

Marist Red Foxes men's basketball : ''For information on all Marist College sports, see Marist Red Foxes'' The Marist Red Foxes men's basketball team is the basketball team that represents Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. The school's team currently com ...

Marist