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WATCH: Pregame Senior Day Ceremony
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KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Feb. 28, 2020) – The USMMA men's basketball team won for the second time in as many days over Connecticut College, 61-50, on Sunday afternoon at the Liebertz Gymnasium. The victory moves the Mariners' record to 2-1, while the Camels drop to 0-2.
 
Prior to the game the Mariners paid tribute to their graduating seniors with a special Senior Day ceremony honoring Jesse Neloms (Memphis, Tenn.), Seth Barnes (Chillicothe, Ohio), James Walsh (Huntington, N.Y.) and team manager Mark Castleberry. If you missed it, you can watch the ceremony in its entirety at this link as well as at the bottom of this page.
 
Junior Jack Bucher (Carlisle, Pa.) led all players on the day and tied his career-high with 18 points, while also bringing down seven rebounds and dishing out four assists. Walsh also reached double-figures in scoring after a strong second half where he scored 10 of his 13 points on the afternoon.
 
Junior Blain McDonough (Marietta, Ga.) just missed out on a double-double with nine points to go along with a game-best 15 rebounds. Walsh and McDonough both tied for the game-high with five assists apiece, as the Mariners were very generous with spreading the ball around – totaling 22 assists on the day to Connecticut College's seven.
 
Two other players added eight points apiece for the Mariners – freshmen Bryce Bristow (Plano, Texas) and Gavin Green (Flower Mound, Texas), while Neloms contributed three points and junior Isaiah Nix (Yorktown, Va.) rounded out the scoring with one basket.
 
Connecticut College built up an early 4-1 lead, however Merchant Marine responded with eight unanswered and capped the run on an old-fashioned 3-point play by Walsh. The Camels fought back and regained the advantage, but the Mariners answered again, and went on to build up a double-digit lead following back-to-back layups by McDonough and Bristow with over three minutes remaining. Bucher gave the hosts a 33-21 lead at the halftime break by capitalizing on a second-chance opportunity with a made jumper from the left side.
 
USMMA stayed ahead throughout the second half despite being challenged throughout, as the Camels came within single digits at 37-29 at 14:02, but Green brought the margin back up to twin-figures for the Mariners by drilling one from downtown at the other end following a scoring drought by both squads.
 
The Camels slashed the lead down to five by the midway point, 42-37, after a pair of free throws at 10:11. However, the Mariners answered back with the long ball and were able to hold off Conn. College for the remainder of the contest to post their second win of the season.
 
For the Camels, freshman Ben Rice led the way with a double-double, scoring 14 points and bringing down 12 rebounds. Two other players scored added 10 points each for Conn. College – freshmen Jarron Flynn and Billy Whelan. Classmate David Murray contributed with seven points, 10 rebounds and a game-high three blocks.
 
Postgame interviews with James Walsh and Head Coach Rob Pryor can be viewed at this link or below.
 
The Mariners return to action this coming Friday night, March 5, when they play host to Skyline Conference opponent Manhattanville College beginning at 7 p.m. at the Liebertz Gymasnium. Live stats and a live video feed of the game will be available with links on the USMMA Men's Basketball Schedule Page.
 
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