BROOKLYN, N.Y. (Feb. 8, 2025) – The USMMA men's basketball team won an important late-season Skyline Conference road contest at St. Joseph's University-Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon, 76-59, at the Bears' Hill Center Gymnasium. The victory improved the Mariners' record to 8-13 (4-8 Skyline), while SJBK fell to 5-16 (2-10 Skyline) in defeat.
 
Game Link

• Box Score 

Senior Drew Zalescik (Lambertville, N.J.) led all players in the game with 22 points while also grabbing seven rebounds. Classmate Isaac Vencel (Bloomington, Ind.) and freshman Max Koeppl (Plano, Texas) both just missed out on double-doubles as they tied each other for the game-high with nine boards, with Vencel scoring 18 points and Koeppl adding 11.
 
Freshman Mason Lavergne (Baton Rouge, La.) rounded out the Mariners in double figures by contributing 10 points to go along with seven rebounds and a game-best five assists. Junior Clark Castleberry (Reston, Va.), senior Talsen Smith (Roseville, Calif.) and freshman Aaron Zalescik (Lambertville, N.J.) all chipped in with five points apiece.
 
The Mariners trailed by as many as six points on two separate occasions in the first half, including at 10:28 when the Bears took a 21-15 lead. For the next eight minutes, however, Merchant Marine held the hosts to just one field goal and one free throw as the Mariners went on a 21-3 run to take a 36-24 lead with under three minutes to play. They went into the locker room at halftime up by seven, 38-31.
 
USMMA quickly built its advantage up to double digits in the second half and it ballooned up to as many as 21 points late in the frame, as the Mariners sailed to a key Skyline victory.
 
Merchant Marine out-rebounded the Bears, 53-25, on the afternoon, and also held advantages in points in the pain (36-22), second chance points (19-10) and fast break points (10-8).
 
St. Joe's was led by senior Chris Williams, who drained 17 points, while freshman Colin Mills added 10 points and a game-high four steals. Grad. student Joshua Gordon brought down a team-best seven rebounds.

Up next, the Mariners host Old Westbury this coming Tuesday night, Feb. 11, beginning at 7 p.m. inside the Liebertz Gymnasium.
 
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