GENEVA, N.Y. (Nov. 22, 2025) – The USMMA men's basketball team closed out play in the 2025 Hobart Basketball Tournament with a 77-63 victory over Fredonia in the consolation game on Saturday at the Statesmen's Bristol Gymnasium. The triumph improved the Mariners' record to 2-2, while the Blue Devils fell to 0-5 with the loss.
 
Game Link

• Box Score 

Four players scored in double-figures for the Mariners with freshman Jack Flannery (McKinney, Texas) leading all players in the game with 20 points, including three 3-pointers. Sophomore Mason Lavergne (Baton Rouge, La.) added 13 points and a game-high six assists, while freshman Richard Sykes Jr. (Tampa, Fla.) contributed 11 points and sophomore Colin Hart (Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.) drained 10. On the glass, sophomore Tim Barton (Waldorf, Md.) tied for the game-best with six rebounds.
 
Merchant Marine opened the game with strong interior scoring as Flannery, Barton, and sophomore Aaron Zalescik (Lambertville, N.J.) combined for three straight layups to build a 6-0 lead. Fredonia responded with an 8-0 stretch to briefly move in front, and the teams traded small runs through the middle of the half with neither side able to create separation. Flannery steadied the Mariners with back-to-back threes late in the period, and a Sykes Jr. tip-in with five seconds left brought Merchant Marine back within one before Fredonia converted two free throws to take a 32-31 lead into the break.
 
The Mariners took control early in the second half with a 10-2 burst sparked by Flannery, Hart, and Sykes Jr., flipping the deficit into a 42-34 advantage. Merchant Marine repeatedly attacked the paint during that stretch—part of a 46-36 edge in points inside—and forced multiple turnovers that led directly to transition baskets. That pressure continued as another surge built the margin to double digits, highlighted by consecutive finishes from Barton and Sykes Jr. and a series of defensive stops that held Fredonia without a field goal for multiple possessions.
 
Merchant Marine's efficiency widened the gap as the half progressed, shooting 32-for-58 from the field and converting six threes while committing only 14 turnovers compared to Fredonia's 20. The Mariners also capitalized on those extra possessions, scoring 26 points off Fredonia turnovers and producing 12 fast-break points that stalled any attempt at a comeback.
 
Senior Clark Castleberry (Reston, Va.) and Flannery knocked down key perimeter shots to keep the lead stable, and Hart added timely scoring inside as Merchant Marine maintained a double-digit advantage entering the final minutes. A late Fredonia push trimmed the margin briefly, but the Mariners closed it out behind steady half-court execution and a final fast-break layup from Lavergne to seal the 77-63 win.
 
Martin Garza led Fredonia with 16 points, including three made threes, while Stevie Williams added 12 points, five rebounds and two assists. Antonio Andrews finished with 11 points off the bench, and Jason Douglas contributed five points and a team-high six rebounds.
 
The Mariners are back in action on Tuesday night, Nov. 25, for a home, non-conference showdown with Brooklyn College beginning at 7 p.m. inside the Liebertz Gymnasium.
 
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