BRONX, N.Y. (Dec. 7, 2022) – Despite a game-high 14 points and five steals from sophomore
Isaac Vencel (Bloomington, Ind.), the USMMA men's basketball team lost on the road at rival SUNY Maritime, 58-54, on Saturday afternoon inside the Privateers' Riesenberg Hall Gymnasium. The setback drops the Mariners' record to 3-4 (1-1 Skyline), while SUNY improves to 4-6 (1-2 Skyline) in victory.
Game Links
Vencel shot 7-of-13 from the floor and was one of two Merchant Marine players to score double-digits, as classmate
Drew Zalescik (Lambertville, N.J.) drained 11. Senior
Brandon Bomboy (Yorktown, Va.) added nine points on a trio of 3-pointers, while junior
Bryce Bristow (Plano, Texas) pulled down a team-high six rebounds while also leading all players with four blocks.
The Mariners trailed by as many as nine points midway through the second half, 48-39, but they stormed all the way back to within just two points after a 7-0 run, capped off by a steal and basket by Vencel at 7:15.
Neither team shot well over the next few minutes, as there was only one made field goal by the Privateers. That combined with a couple of free throws by each team brought the score to 54-48 in favor of the hosts with 3:15 to play.
Down the stretch, USMMA had a chance to get closer with five free throws over the span of 30 seconds, but they only hit two of them. So it was a two-point game, 56-54, with 43 seconds left.
After a big defensive stop on a block by Bristow, Merchant Marine failed to connect on a pair of layups with under 10 seconds to play and committed a foul on the rebound of the second, sending SUNY Maritime to the line with a chance to put the game away, which they did – connecting on both freebies with just 7.7 second left to make it a two-possession game.
For the Privateers, senior Ryan Donovan and freshman Tyler Anderson both scored in double-figures, with Donovan leading the way with 13 points and Anderson contributing 12 to go along with a game-high four assists. Junior Aleksandar Begovic corralled a game-best eight rebounds on the afternoon.
Up next, the Mariners travel to York College in Jamaica, N.Y., this coming Monday, Dec. 12. Tipoff of the non-conference game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Cardinals' York College Gymnasium. (
Please Note: If you plan to attend the game at York, you must be vaccinated against COVID-19 and fill out a form prior to arriving on campus.
More info on York's spectator policy can be found at this link.) 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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