Hartford, CT – The Merchant Marine men's basketball team engineered a 13-5 run over the final 3:29 of regulation to defeat Trinity (CT), 66-58, Wednesday afternoon. Reed Buck (Lawrenceville, GA) continued his hot streak with a game high 24 points. Senior Frankie Wiseley (Emmaus, PA) added a season high 13 points while Zach Karczewski (Austin, TX) dished out five assists for the Mariners. USMMA has now won five of its last six games as they head into the heart of the Landmark Conference schedule.
Merchant Marine (8-4) scored the first six points of the day as Wiseley, George Hatzioannides (Oakland Gardens, NY), and Andrew Williams (Lantana, TX) all cracked the scoreboard early. Williams finished the contest with three blocks and now has 24 on the season, ranking him second in the league. The Mariners led by as many as 11 points in the opening half but the Bantams notched the final two field goals of the period and cut the USMMA advantage to 31-24 as the two teams entered the intermission.
Trinity (5-7) used an early surge in the second half to take its first lead at 35-34 with 14:06 on the clock via a Jaquann Starks three-pointer. Alexander Conaway paced the Bantams offense off the bench with 11 points in 25 minutes of action. Trinity was just the third team to out rebound the Mariners this season, holding a 43-35 edge as both team struggled from the floor. The Bantams finished the game hitting 37.5 percent from the floor compared to USMMA' s 36.8 percent mark.
The two teams battled back-and -forth, eventually finding themselves level at 53-53 with 3:29 to play. Buck started the Merchant Marine by making a pair of free throws, he would finish the afternoon a rock-solid 10-of-12 from the charity stripe. From there, it was Wiseley who took over, scoring seven of the game's next ten points, including a huge shot from beyond the arc. The Bantams managed just one field goal in the final 6:21 of the game as Merchant Marine claimed the victory, 66-58.
USMMA will return to the court this Saturday for a Landmark Conference clash against #9 Catholic. Tip-off is set for 6:00 pm.