United States Merchant Marine Academy

KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Nov. 22, 2022) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy men's basketball team defeated visiting City College of New York, 73-66, on Tuesday night inside the Liebertz Gymnasium in the final game before Thanksgiving break. The victory improved the Mariners' record to an even 2-2 on the year, while the Beavers fell to 2-3 in defeat.
 
Game Links

• Box Score
• WATCH: Postgame Interview With Bryce Bristow 

Junior Bryce Bristow (Plano, Texas) led USMMA with 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while three other players recorded double-digit scoring nights – sophomore Drew Zalescik (Lambertville, N.J.) with 16, and seniors Dante Spina (Miami, Fla.) and Kevin Doty (Bayport, N.Y.) with 10 apiece. Junior DeMarcus Spivey (Ashburn, Va.) just missed out on double-figures, as he ended the night with nine points.
 
Play was back-and-forth for most of the opening half, but the Beavers rattled off a 13-5 run late to take a 21-15 lead with 4:50 left. The Mariners fought back to tie it right up with six-straight points, but the visitors went back up by four points twice late before a three-pointer by Spivey with eight seconds left sent the Mariners into the locker room down by just one, 27-26.
 
The Mariners came out firing in the second half, as they quickly took the lead on a three-pointer by Zalescik just 10 seconds in and didn't relinquish the advantage the rest of the night. They connected on five shots from downtown in just over five minutes of action to pull out to a nine-point lead, 48-39, at 14:23.
 
CCNY did fight back to within just four points shortly after, but Merchant Marine was able to keep them at bay, eventually working its way up to a double-digit lead, 71-61, with just 1:10 to play and holding on for the seven-point victory.
 
For the Beavers, junior Yassine Sakhi led all players on the night with 24 points, while classmate Amir Assani added nine. Four players tied for the team-high with five rebounds each – Sakhi, Assani, junior Nana Oteng and sophomore Bayame Bah. Senior Dashaun Galloway had a game-high five assists on the night.
 
Up next for the Mariners will be a road exhibition game against Division I Army West Point next Wednesday, Nov. 30. Game time is schedule for 6 p.m. at the Black Knights' Christl Arena. Live links for the game will be available with links on the USMMA Men's Basketball Schedule Page.
 
Receive USMMA Men's Basketball News Right To Your E-Mail!
If you would like to receive the latest news, including all press releases, for the USMMA men's basketball team (or any other team at the academy), sent directly to your e-mail, fill out this form.
 
Follow USMMA Athletics On Social Media!
Be sure to follow USMMA Athletics on social media to get up-to-the-minute updates on your favorite teams! Start following today on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube!