United States Merchant Marine Academy

JAMAICA, N.Y. (Dec. 12, 2022) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy men's basketball team led by as many as 11 points midway through the first half, but York College rallied to take the lead at halftime and pulled away in the second half to defeat the Mariners, 83-70. USMMA moved to 3-5 on the season, while York improved to 2-9.

Game Links

• Box Score 

Sophomore Isaac Vencel (Bloomington, Ind.) finished 9-of-14 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from distance, to lead USMMA with 21 points. Classmate Kody Robinson (Woodbridge, N.J.) scored 19 points, sophomore Drew Zalescik (Lambertville, N.J.) added 12 and junior Bryce Bristow (Plano, Texas) chipped in with eight points and 10 rebounds. The Mariners shot 45.9 percent (28-of-61) from the floor and made 10-of-26 3-pointers (38.5 percent).
 
Kila Olawale scored a game-high 23 points for York, which shot 52.5 percent (31-of-59) from the floor and 47.4 percent (9-of-19) from distance. The Cardinals scored 18 points off 13 USMMA turnovers.
 
USMMA jumped out to an early lead as 3-pointers from senior Brandon Bomboy (Yorktown, Va.) and Robinson helped open a 12-6 advantage less than four minutes into the game. The Mariners led 12-11 before Vencel and Robinson each made a pair of 3-pointers to key a 12-2 surge that gave USMMA its largest lead of the game, 24-13, with 12:50 left in the opening half. York answered quickly, however, as the home team used a 15-3 rally of its own to take a 28-27 lead at the 6:22 mark.
 
After the teams were tied at 29-29 and again at 31-31, a William Brown 3-pointer put York on top and helped the Cardinals take a 38-35 lead into halftime.
 
York scored the first four points of the second half to go up seven before Bristow brought USMMA back to within four, 42-38, with a bucket-and-one. The four-point deficit proved to be as close as the Mariners would come the rest of the way as back-to-back fastbreak 3-pointers from Matthew Trepeta soon put the Cardinals up 52-40.
 
The Mariners had one more rally in them as Robinson and Vencel each had a 3-pointer to lead a quick 8-2 run that trimmed the deficit to seven, 68-61, with 6:35 to play. USMMA was still within seven at the 4:54 mark, but the Cardinals closed out the contest with an 11-5 run for the final margin.
 
The Mariners return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 14, with a 7:30 p.m. road game against non-conference opponent William Paterson in Wayne, N.J. 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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