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United States Merchant Marine Academy

EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS
Drew Zalescik
69
Winner SUNY New Paltz NPMBB24 2-0
59
Merchant Marine USMMAM 2-1
Winner
SUNY New Paltz NPMBB24
2-0
69
Final
59
Merchant Marine USMMAM
2-1
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
SUNY New Paltz NPMBB24 40 29 69
Merchant Marine USMMAM 38 21 59

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | by Ben Carlton

Mariners Falter In Second Half In Home Loss To SUNY New Paltz

KINGS POINT, NY (Nov. 14, 2023) - The USMMA men's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season, falling to the SUNY New Paltz Hawks, 69-59, at home on Tuesday night. The setback drops the Mariners' record to 2-1, while the Hawks improve to 2-0.
 
Game Link It was a back-and-forth first half in the Liebertz Gymnasium between the Hawks and the Mariners. Junior Drew Zalescik (Lambertville, N.J.) was crucial to the USMMA offense in the first 20 minutes with 19 points on 6-12 shooting from the field and 6-7 from the charity stripe. That mark handily paced USMMA, as fellow junior Isaac Vencel (Bloomington, Ind.) and senior DeMarcus Spivey (Ashburn, Va.) finished the period with four points apiece.
 
USMMA was up by a point with just six seconds remaining in the first half, but New Paltz's Rylan Blondo was fouled on his half-court heave. Blondo drained all three free throws, to give the Hawks a 40-38 edge after twenty minutes.
 
In the second half, the Hawks defense smothered the Mariners. USMMA missed on their first 10 field goal attempts as the Hawks raced out to a 51-40 advantage just over seven minutes into the half.
 
New Paltz extended that lead to as much as 13 points in the second half, holding the Mariners at arm's length. Merchant Marine got to within seven points, but could not close the gap as the Hawks held on for a 69-59 win.
 
Zalescik finished with 21 points and eight rebounds to lead Merchant Marine, with Vencel the only other double-digit scorer with 14 points.
 
Merchant Marine shot 33% for the game but just 24% in the second half, while SUNY New Paltz finished at 41% from the field.
 
Junior guard AJ Knight poured in 14 points for the Hawks on 5-7 shooting from the field, as grad students Kobe Bogart and Rylan Blondo chipped in 13 and 11 points, respectively.
 
The Mariners hit the road this Saturday, Nov. 18, to take on Rutgers-Newark at The Golden Dome. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. Live stats and a live video steam of the game will be available with links on the USMMA Men's Basketball Schedule Page.
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