KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Jan. 14, 2023) – The USMMA Mariners men's basketball team pulled off their greatest win of the season by taking down Farmingdale State 77-73 at Liebertz Gymnasium. USMMA's three-point shooting stayed hot and catapulted the Mariners to victory. Merchant Marine improved to 6-9 (4-2 Skyline) with the win while Farmingdale State suffered its first conference loss to fall to 10-5 (5-1 Skyline).
Game Links
Expectations for today's game were for it to be highly offensive and those expectations were met without a doubt. After the Rams came out of the gate hot on a 9-0 run to start the game, the Mariners got their footing underneath them thanks to junior
Bryce Bristow (Plano, Texas) and sophomore
Drew Zalescik (Lambertville, N.J.). Bristow and Zalescik tag-teamed to tally the Mariners' first seven points of the afternoon in a span of 1:16.
From then on, the last 34 minutes of the game were a back-and-forth affair. In a game of trends, both offenses put together hot streaks and cold streaks simultaneously. A 26-point output by the two rivals in the opening eight minutes was followed by a combined five points over the next 3:40.
While Nick Hurowitz and Tre Riggins carried the load for Farmingdale State with 10 points apiece in the first half, USMMA had a different offensive approach. Head coach
Rob Pryor's club shared the basketball leaving the Rams guessing who would be the shooter.
Senior
Kevin Doty (Bayport, N.Y.) led the Mariners in scoring with seven points in the first 20 minutes. Right behind Doty were Bristow, Zalescik, and senior
Brandon Bomboy (Yorktown, Va.) in a three-way tie, all contributing six points. Seven of the nine Mariners to step foot on the court in the first half recorded at least four points. Despite sharing the ball and shooting 14-for-30 from the field in the first half, the Mariners found themselves trailing 40-34 at halftime.
As the second half began, the punch-for-punch style of play continued. Nine combined points were scored in the opening 90 seconds. For Merchant Marine, their raging hot three-point shooting made the difference in the game. Sophomore
Isaac Vencel (Bloomington, Ind.), who was held scoreless in the first half, played like a man possessed in half number two.
Vencel took control of the game by shooting at an 8-for-11 clip from the field and by going 3-for-4 from downtown in the second half. Simply unstoppable in half number two, Vencel put the Mariners on his back to keep the contest close. With 2:33 on the clock trailing 73-67, Vencel went on an individual 9-0 run in 62 seconds to leapfrog the Mariners in front 74-73 with 1:31 on the clock. After zero points in the first half, Vencel put together an in-conference season-high 19-point performance.
None of Vencel's heroics would have been possible without a great supporting cast. Junior
DeMarcus Spivey (Ashburn, Va.) dropped nine of his 14 points in the second half while Bristow rattled off seven of his 13 in the final 20 minutes.
The Mariners' three-point shooting has been unconscious the last three games going 32-for-77 (42%).
On the defensive side, the Mariners made an adjustment after Wednesday's loss at Mount Saint Mary. Unable to hold a late lead in that game, USMMA flipped the script and did not allow a single point to the Rams in the final 3:09 of today's contest. Swarming defense kept the Rams to the Rams pinned on the outside. Most notably, Coach Pryor's defense held Hurowitz and Riggins to a combined 11 points in the second half after allowing 20 in the opening frame.
Merchant Marine will look to take momentum from today's victory on a two-game road trip to Mount Saint Vincent and St. Joseph's-Brooklyn. USMMA will tip off next against the Dolphins on Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. Live stats and a live video feed of 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!
