KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Dec. 18, 2024) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy men's basketball team was tied with TCNJ midway through the first half, but surrendered a 20-0 run that proved too much to overcome and dropped its third-straight game with an 84-52 loss. USMMA saw its record go to 4-5, while TCNJ improved to 8-3.
 
Game Link

• Box Score 

Senior Drew Zalescik (Lambertville, N.J.) went 6-of-13 from the floor and 7-of-7 from the line to pace the Mariners with a game-high 21 points. Junior Clark Castleberry (Reston, Va.) and freshman Aaron Zalescik (Lambertville, N.J.) each contributed eight points. USMMA shot 32.7 percent (16-of-49) from the floor, including a 2-of-18 effort (11.1 percent) from distance. The Mariners were outscored by a 41-15 margin in points off turnovers, despite committing just four more turnovers than the Lions (24-20).
 
Matthew Solomon had a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double to lead four players in double-figures for TCNJ. The Lions shot 45.2 percent from the floor (33-of-73) and made 11-of-34 3-pointers (32.4 percent), while also posting a 22-10 edge in fastbreak points.
 
The Lions jumped out to a 5-0 lead before D. Zalescik drained a 3-pointer and made a layup to tie the game. Freshman Mason Lavergne (Baton Rouge, La.) later converted a layup-and-one to put USMMA on top, 8-7, at the 15:43 mark.
 
The score was tied, 12-12, with 10:28 to go when the Lions went on a 20-0 run to grab a 32-12 advantage with 4:41 left in the half. The Mariners went 0-of-8 from the floor during the stretch.
 
Freshman Max Koeppl (Plano, Texas) ended the run with a jumper, but a TCNJ 3-pointer in the closing seconds put the Mariners down at halftime, 37-16.
 
USMMA missed its first four field goals of the second half, but Drew Zalescik went 5-of-5 at the free throw line to keep the deficit at 21 points. The deficit eventually reached 30 before Drew made back-to-back layups to make it a 26-point game, the closest USMMA would come the rest of the way.
 
After the deficit touched 40, 77-37, at the 5:27 mark, the USMMA defense forced three missed field goals and three turnovers to help key a 6-0 run.
 
The Mariners are off until Thursday, Jan. 2, when they host Bard for a 7 p.m. non-conference game.
 
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