Junior forward Reed Buck (Lawrenceville, Ga.) had a game-high 24 points, sinking 10 of 12 shots from the foul line, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals to lead the visiting United States Merchant Marine Academy Mariners to a 66-58 win over the Trinity College Bantams in men's basketball action on Stan Ogrodnik Court in Oosting Gymnasium this afternoon.  Trinity falls to 5-7, while the Mariners improve to 8-4 with their second victory in a row.

Merchant Marine ended the game with a 13-5 run, after Trinity had tied it at 53-53 on a pair of free throws by sophomore Hart Gliedman (New York, N.Y.) with 3:29 remaining in the second half.  Reed answered with a pair from the charity stripe, stole the ball on the ensuing Bantam possession, and fed senior guard Frank Wiseley (Emmaus, Pa.) on a quick three-pointer to up the Marine lead to 58-53 with 2:32 on the clock.  The Bantams shot 2-for-8 from the foul line in the final 2:30, while Buck and Wiseley combined to make all eight of Merchant Marine's free throws over the same period.

Merchant Marine turned a 19-18 lead into at the eight-minute mark into a 31-20 lead inside the final minute of the first half, before a jumper by freshman guard Jaquann Starks (Hartford, Conn.) and an offensive rebound off a missed free throw and put-back by sophomore forward Mark Richards (Orangeburg, N.Y.) pulled the home team to within seven at 31-24 heading into the break.  Bantam senior captain guard Mick DiStasio (Yarmouth, Maine) opened the second stanza with a three-pointer, and Trinity took its first lead of the contest with just over 14 minutes left on a trey by Starks.  The game seesawed back and forth over the next 10-plus minutes.

Trinity shot 51.4 percent from the foul line (19-for-37), but held a 43-t0-35 advantage on the glass.  Sophomore forward Alex Conaway (New Haven, Conn.) scored a team-high 11 points and added five rebounds, while DiStasio finished with 10 points, a team-high eight boards, and three steals for the Bantams.  Wiseley joined Buck in double figures in scoring and grabbed five boards for Merchant Marine, while rookie center Scott Dennin (Gilbertsville, Pa.) pulled down a team-high eight rebounds for the visitors.