United States Merchant Marine Academy

BRONX, N.Y. (Feb. 21, 2023) – Trailing by as many as 11 points midway through the second half, the #5 seed U.S. Merchant Marine Academy men's basketball team fought back to within just one point of fourth-seeded SUNY Maritime in the closing minutes of the Skyline Tournament Quarterfinals, however the Privateers held on for the 66-64 victory after the Mariners' last-second three attempt for the win did not go.
 
Game Link

• Box Score 

In defeat, the Mariners' record drops to 13-13, while the Privateers improve to 16-10 and move on to the Skyline Semifinals where they'll travel to top-seeded Farmingdale State on Thursday night.
 
Three players scored in double-figures for the Mariners with sophomore Kody Robinson (Woodbridge, N.J.) leading the way with 17 points, followed by classmate Isaac Vencel (Bloomington, Ind.) with 15 and junior DeMarcus Spivey (Ashburn, Va.) with 14. Sophomore Drew Zalescik (Lambertville, N.J.) brought down 11 rebounds to lead all players on the night.
 
USMMA shot an impressive 53.9% from the field in the first half and led 35-32 at the break, but cooled down in the second half, connecting on just 35.7% to finish the night 44.4% from the field.
 
On the other side, the Privateers used a 15-2 run early in the second half to take their largest lead, 11 points (52-41), at 10:31. The Mariners ended the night shooting better than the hosts, as SUNY Maritime finished at a 42.1% clip in the contest.
 
Merchant Marine was able to fight back slowly but surely two within one point late, thanks in large part to a couple of key Maritime turnovers. The Mariners finished the game with 21 points in total off of the Privateers' 15 turnovers.
 
Maritime drained an incredible 14 three-pointers on the night (seven in each half), including a big one late when the Mariners got within one point that gave the Privateers some breathing room with a four-point lead at 1:20.
 
The Mariners converted a jumper by Robinson just before the final minute began to make it a two-point game once again, 66-64, and then the defense had a stop on the other end. After a missed three with 18 ticks left, Merchant Marine put SUNY Maritime at the line for 1-and-1 and the Privateers missed to give the Mariners the ball back with eight seconds remaining.
 
Out of a timeout, USMMA got the ball in the hands of Robinson for what would have been a game-winning, buzzer-beating three, but the ball hit off the inside of the rim before bouncing past the basket.
 
For the Privateers, senior Ryan Donovan led four players in double-figures with a game-high 20 points, while also tying two other teammates with a team-high six rebounds. Junior Theo Noble drained 18 points with a game-best four three-pointers, while freshman Jovan Germain added 11 points and classmate Tyler Anderson contributed 10.
 
The Mariners have declared for the upcoming ECAC Tournament. The bracket for the ECAC Championships will be announced early next week, after the NCAA Championship bracket is announced. Stay logged on to www.USMMASports.com for any updates.
 
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