KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Feb. 21, 2026) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy men's basketball team dropped a heartbreaking 73-68 overtime decision to Skyline Conference opponent St. Joseph's-Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon in their season-finale at Liebertz Gymnasium. The Mariners close out the 2025-26 campaign with a 7-18 overall record (4-12 Skyline), while the Bears ended their season 9-16 overall (6-10 Skyline).
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Freshman Jack Flannery (McKinney, Texas) led all scorers with a game-high 22 points while sophomores Mason Lavergne (Baton Rouge, La.) and Tim Barton (Waldorf, Md.) chipped in with 18 and 11 points, respectively. Barton dished out a game-high six assists and snagged five steals, also a game-best, while classmate Aaron Zalescik (Lambertville, N.J.) hauled down a team-high 12 rebounds, missing a double-double by one point with nine.
USMMA shot 24-for-68 from the field (35.3%) and 10-for-29 from three (34.5%). The Bears went 23-for-56 from the field (41.1%) and 23-of-29 at the free throw line (79.3%), including 7-of-8 in overtime.
The Mariners struck first after Barton's steal led to a 19:32 fastbreak layup for a 2-0 lead, and Lavergne followed with a finish at 17:59 to make it 4-0. St. Joseph's answered behind a 15:59 three to go in front, 7-4, and extended the margin to 10-6 on an Idowu layup at 14:08. After a Merchant Marine timeout, freshman Talan Dawkins (South Riding, Va.) drilled a three at 13:32 to cut it to 10-9, before Zalescik scored five points in a 1:20 span on a layup at 11:20 and a jumper at 10:49 to put the Mariners back on top, 13-10. The Bears briefly regained momentum with an 8-0 push, but Flannery and Lavergne answered with back-to-back threes at 8:30 and 7:37 to make it 19-19. Flannery's layup at 5:39 gave USMMA a 21-19 edge, and after the teams traded the lead, a Flannery triple at 3:27 pushed the Mariners in front, 24-21. Barton then buried a three-pointer at 2:16 to make it 27-21, and the hosts carried a 32-23 advantage into the break after Flannery's free throw with 40 seconds remaining.
St. Joseph's opened the second half with an Idowu bucket at 19:15, but Lavergne went 2-for-2 at the line at 18:57 to keep Kings Point up 34-25. The Bears chipped away and trimmed it to 34-29 at 17:45, before Flannery hit a three at 17:30 to spark a response. Flannery's fastbreak layup at 15:07 pushed the lead to 39-29, but St. Joseph's answered at the stripe and pulled within 39-33 on a Munson basket at 13:33. Barton split a pair of free throws at 13:12, and freshman Noah Brown (Hedgesville, W.Va.) knocked down a corner three at 12:28 to make it 43-36. The Bears stayed attached and cut it to two, 43-41, at 9:50, before Zalescik went 2-for-2 at the line at 9:26 to make it 45-41. Lavergne then drilled a three at 8:45 for a 48-41 cushion, but St. Joseph's answered immediately from deep at 7:55. Flannery's three at 7:32 and Lavergne's finish at 6:14 kept the Blue and Gray in front, 53-48, and Zalescik's jumper and a free throw at 5:03 made it 56-50. St. Joseph's responded with a run that included a Munson fastbreak layup at 3:33 and two free throws at 2:46 to close within 58-54, and Flannery's triple at 2:26 stretched it back to 61-54.
The Bears rallied again late to lead 62-61, and the Mariners tied it up at 62 when Barton went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe. St. Joseph's-Brooklyn was then assessed a technical foul for calling a timeout it did not have right after. Flannery was sent to the line with 0.8 seconds left, missed both attempts, and a missed three-pointer at the buzzer by Lavergne kept the game tied at 62 going into overtime.
In the extra session, Munson opened the scoring with a jumper at 3:50 to make it 64-62, but Barton tied it with a layup at 3:28. Idowu's jumper at 1:26 put the Bears back in front, 67-64, and St. Joseph's added four straight free throws in the final 30 seconds to extend the margin to 71-64. Lavergne's fastbreak layup at eight seconds left brought USMMA within five, 71-66, but the Bears would use two more free throws with five seconds remaining to grab a 73-66 lead and pick up the victory.
St. Joseph's was paced by Jacob Idowu, who posted 20 points and 19 rebounds, while Justin Munson had 20 points of his own.
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