Throggs Neck, NY – Reed Buck (Lawrenceville, GA) led the way with 25 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season but it was a total team effort as 12 Mariners cracked the scoreboard in USMMA's 78-42 rout of Maritime (NY) Tuesday night.  Merchant Marine shot a blistering 56.9% from the field and knocked down nine trifectas in the win.  Freshman David Smith (Lakewood, WA) reached double-digits for the first time in his young collegiate career, totaling 15 points off the bench.

Merchant Marine (2-1) put together a 16-2 run in just over seven minutes in the opening half to build a 33-12 cushion.  That key run was fueled by the hot shooting of Smith, who buried four attempts from beyond the arc.  USMMA went into halftime with a 37-20 advantage only to storm back onto the court to engineer another 16-2 run that made it a 53-22 affair to all but seal the game.

Maritime (NY) (0-4) was paced by the 17 points of T-Vaughn Gibson.  However, the Privateers managed just 30.2% from the floor and were 5-of-28 (20.8%) from downtown.  One of the only statistical advantages held by the home team was in turnover margin as they forced 14 turnovers while committing only 12 of their own.

By the end of the night 14 Mariners saw the floor for at least five minutes, marking the largest rotation of the year.  Junior Nick Sergio (Patchogue, NY) also had a strong night, tallying six points (3-of-5) and seven rebounds off the bench.  Merchant Marine posted its highest scoring total this year while also ratcheting up the defense and limiting an opponent to less than 50 points for the first time in 2012-13.

The USMMA men's basketball team returns to action this Saturday for its home and conference opener against Goucher.  Tip-off is set for 4:00 pm and will be the backend of a double-header with the women's team on Hawaiian Day at O'Hara Hall.