KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Jan. 29, 2023) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy men's basketball team shot 56.5 percent (35-of-62) from the floor and recorded a season-high point total as part of an 85-79 triumph against Yeshiva. USMMA notched its fifth-straight victory and improved to 10-9 (8-2 Skyline), while Yeshiva saw its record go to 10-9 (7-3 Skyline).
Game Links
Junior
Bryce Bristow (Plano, Texas) made 10-of-11 field goals and finished with a team-high 22 points, including a 17-point effort in the first half alone. Sophomore
Drew Zalescik (Lambertville, N.J.) finished with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting and classmate
Isaac Vencel (Bloomington, Ind.) contributed 14 points for the Mariners. USMMA shot 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from distance.
Zevi Samet went 8-of-14 from long range and finished with a game-high 32 points to lead Yeshiva. Max Zakheim added 16 points, while Matan Zucker totaled eight points, 13 boards and seven assists. The Maccabees shot 42.0 percent (29-of-69) from the floor, including a 46.7 percent effort (14-of-30) from 3-point land.
After a pair of Samet free throws gave Yeshiva a quick 2-0 lead, Bristow leveled the score with a layup before adding another layup that gave the Mariners a lead they would not relinquish. Bristow stayed hot early as a 3-pointer and yet another layup gave the junior nine points and helped USMMA jump out to an 11-4 advantage with 15:43 to play.
Yeshiva pulled to within three points on three occasions before Samet knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the Mariner lead to just 24-23 at the 5:34 mark. Freshman
Caleb Hutchins (Buffalo, N.Y.) answered with a 3-pointer for USMMA, but Samet responded at the other end with another 3-pointer. The Mariners pulled away in the closing minutes, opening a 12-point lead as Bristow and Zalescik scored four points apiece as part of a 13-2 run that made it 40-28. A Vencel 3-pointer eventually gave USMMA a 13-point advantage, its largest of the game, but a Dothan Bardichev 3 made it 43-33 at halftime.
USMMA led by nine, 51-42, after a Bristow slam at 17:06, but Samet made 3s on two of the next three Yeshiva possessions to make it a five-point game. After the Mariners pushed their lead back to nine on a Hutchins 3-ball at 11:51, a pair of Samet 3s gave the Maccabees six unanswered points and made it 65-62 at 9:23. The USMMA lead was back to five following a Zalescik layup, but Samet made another 3-pointer to make it 72-70 with just 4:56 on the clock. Sophomore
Kody Robinson (Woodbridge, N.J.) answered with a 3-pointer and a Vencel layup gave USMMA a seven-point lead following a quick 5-0 run.
USMMA saw its lead dwindle to two, 81-79, with 1:32 left, but junior
Jake Hatch (Austin, Texas) made a jumper and Yeshiva missed its next three field goals. Vencel followed with a pair of free throws for the final margin.
The Mariners head back out on the road for an 8 p.m. contest on Feb. 1 against Old Westbury. The game will be played on the Farmingdale State campus. 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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