KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Jan. 6, 2024) – The USMMA men's basketball team did not lead at all in the first half, but used an excellent shooting performance in the second to come back and defeat the SUNY Maritime Privateers, 60-54. USMMA improved to 5-8 (2-3 Skyline) with the victory, while Maritime moved to 8-5 (3-1 Skyline).
Game Links
Both sides brought the defensive intensity from the opening tip, in a low-scoring first half. Maritime jumped out to a 9-1 lead across the first five minutes, with the Mariners' lone point coming on a
Drew Zalescik (Lambertville, N.J.) free throw. USMMA struggled to find many open looks on the offensive end throughout the first half, as the Privateers opened up a 19-7 lead with eight minutes to play in the first half.
As the half wound down, USMMA began to find their rhythm on offense.
Jakob Gonzales (Golden, Colo.) drilled a triple shortly after he checked in for the first time in the ballgame. Zalescik canned a three-pointer as well, then late in the half,
Bryce Bristow (Plano, Texas) knocked in his own three ball to cut the deficit to 27-21. After the first 20 minutes, the Mariners trailed 30-23.
The defensive prowess continued to begin the second half, as each side traded buckets through five minutes, as the Mariners trimmed the deficit to 36-31.
Clark Castleberry (Reston, Va.) took advantage of a mismatch to bank in a layup to cut the deficit to three points, before
Isaac Vencel (Bloomington, Ind.) knocked down a game-tying three, to make it 36-36 with just under 14 minutes to play. From there, Vencel and
Caleb Hutchins (Buffalo, N.Y.) added five points apiece to push the USMMA lead to 45-39, while holding the Privateers to just 1-7 shooting from the floor over a five minute stretch.
Through the final eight minutes, it was the Mariners' defense that proved to be the difference-maker. SUNY Maritime connected on just four of their final 17 attempts from the floor, never coming any closer than a three point deficit as USMMA went on to win 60-54. Crucially, the Mariners drained five of seven free throws to help ice the game as Maritime began intentionally fouling to try and stay alive.
Vencel finished as the leading scorer for USMMA with 21 points, with 17 of those coming in the second half as he hit eight of his nine shots.
Drew Zalescik picked up a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, while
Bryce Bristow and
Clark Castleberry each had eight points.
For the Privateers, Tyler Anderson and Evan Block each poured in 14 points. Theo Noble was their leading rebounder, pulling down nine boards in 30 minutes.
The Mariners are back in action to take on Pratt Institute, at the Cannoneers' ARC Center on January 10. 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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