KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Feb. 22, 2025) – After pregame festivities to honor three seniors on the team, USMMA Men's Basketball gutted out a thrilling 73-66 win over the Farmingdale State Rams. Both sides now look to the playoffs, as Kings Point finishes the regular season 10-15 (6-10 Skyline), while Farmingdale ends their campaign 16-9 (13-3 Skyline).
 
Game Links

• Box Score
• WATCH: Postgame Interview With Drew Zalescik
• Senior Day Photo Gallery 

Senior Drew Zalescik (Lambertville, N.J.) was at his standard high level, leading the Mariners with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Fellow senior Isaac Vencel (Bloomington, Ind.) filled up the box score with 17 points, seven boards, and five assists. Crucially, Vencel also shot 70% at the free throw line on 10 attempts to help ice the game. Freshman Mason Lavergne (Baton Rouge, La.) added 16 points himself, with six rebounds and four assists.
 
It was a slow start to the game for both sides, as the Mariners and Rams battled to 10-10 over the first 8:30 of gametime. Then at the five-minute mark of the first half, both sides were locked up again at 20-20 after a Clark Castleberry (Reston, Va.) jumper. He poured in 11 first-half points to lead Merchant Marine.
 
Later, Zalescik dropped in a layup just before the halftime break, as both sides hit the locker rooms tied at 30-30.
 
After a chippy end to the first half, a flurry of foul calls to open the second kept the action low-scoring. Zalescik drilled a triple to put Merchant Marine up 37-34, before the Rams poured in six quick points to establish a 40-37 edge.
 
The Rams pushed that lead out to as much as 48-42, with six points marking the largest deficit for either school to that point. The two sides traded buckets and subsequent stops for a stretch, as Farmingdale maintained their six-point edge through the 10-minute mark, with a 53-47 lead.
 
From there, Merchant Marine went on an extended 13-9 run across five minutes of game time, culminating in a Vencel layup to bring things level again, at 60-60 with just over four minutes left. Shortly after that, Lavergne dropped in a crucial layup, and hit the accompanying free throw to give USMMA a 64-63 edge. Moments later, Zalescik knifed inside for another bucket to make it 66-63.
 
It turned into a game of free throws down the stretch, as the Mariners hit seven of their last 10 at the charity stripe to put the finishing touches on a 73-66 win on Senior Day.
 
Next up for the Mariners, they head to the playoffs for a rematch with Farmingdale State at the Rams' Nold Hall Gymnasium, on Tuesday, February 25th. More information will be posted on usmmasports.com as it becomes available.
 
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