PURCHASE, N.Y. (Feb. 5, 2025) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy men's basketball team was defeated on Tuesday evening at Purchase, 90-59. The Mariners fall to 7-13 (3-8 Skyline) on the season, while the Panthers improve to 10-10 (6-5 Skyline).
 
Game Link

• Box Score 

Three Mariners scored in double figures on the evening, with senior Drew Zalescik (Lambertville, N.J.) leading the way with a team-high 19 points and missed a second straight double-double by one rebound with a team-best nine boards. Classmate Isaac Vencel (Bloomington, Ind.) scored 13 points, and junior Clark Castleberry (Reston, Va.) added 12 points.
 
Purchase knocked down 16 three-pointers in the contest, including 42.9 percent from behind the arc in the first half (9-for-21).
 
After Kings Point opened the scoring on a Castleberry three-pointer 18 seconds into the contest, Purchase responded with a 9-2 run to take a 9-5 advantage at 15:51 on a three-pointer by Tyler Bond. Vencel's layup at 15:14 cut the deficit down to two, 9-7, then the Panthers scored six straight points on back-to-back three-pointers from junior Sean Holzman to stretch the lead back to eight, 15-7 before Castleberry and Vencel connected on a jumper and a layup at 13:46 and 13:20 to get the Blue and Gray within four, 15-11.
 
Purchase built its lead back to nine, 20-11, freshman Max Koeppl (Plano, Texas) capped off a 6-0 Merchant Marine run to get the deficit down to three, 20-17, on a layup at 9:04 before the Panthers finished the first half with a 22-5 surge to take a 42-22 lead into the halftime break.
 
The hosts would not look back in the second half, building their lead to 36 points, 69-33 at 9:09 and coasting the rest of the way to a 90-59 victory.
 
Junior Tyler Bond led all Purchase scorers with a team-high 16 points, while classmate Rashid Nikiema contributed 15 points. Holzman dropped 14 points and drained a game-high four three-pointers for the Panthers.
 
The Mariners will head to Brooklyn on Saturday, Feb. 8, to take on conference foe St. Joseph's Brooklyn on the road at 3 p.m.
 
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