Men's Basketball
USMMA Mariners vs Franklin and Marshall
Franklin & Marshall (NCAA 2nd Round) Sat, Mar 06, 2010
Men's Basketball News
No. 23 Men’s Basketball Falls to Franklin & Marshall in 2nd Round
By Jack A. Zolla, Assistant Sports Information DirectorMarch 06, 2010
KINGS
POINT, N.Y.
– On Saturday evening, the No. 23 United States Merchant Marine Academy men’s
basketball team lost to No. 18 Franklin & Marshall College
in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament, 73-64, at Liebertz
Gymnasium in Kings Point, N.Y. With the win, the Diplomats improved to
25-4 overall and advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Following the defeat, the
Mariners fell to 24-5 as they conclude their magical 2009-10 season.
In the first six and a half minutes of the contest, Franklin
& Marshall reeled off 5-0 and 6-0 runs to help gain the early advantage.
With 10:26 remaining in the first half and the Diplomats ahead 18-11, Kings
Point produced a 7-3 run. Sophomore guard Kevin
Kerr (Oakdale, N.Y.)
drained a three-pointer to open the run, while junior forward Matt Hueber (Alexandria, Va.)
hit a lay-up to close it. With 9:05 left, the Mariners were down 21-18.
With a little over seven minutes remaining, USMMA netted
nine points in one minute as Kerr sunk two more treys and junior forward Tom Izzo (Bridgeport,
W. Va.) added one of his own. The two
teams traded free throws as the opening stanza came to a close. F&M went
into halftime ahead 42-37.
Coming out of the intermission, Kings Point fired off eight
consecutive points to grab its first lead of the game, 45-42. USMMA senior
guard Ryan Samuel (Cedar Hill, Texas)
broke the tie with a foul shot and a lay-up with 16:58 left. The Diplomats
answered right back with two lay-ups. The two teams then proceeded to trade
three-balls as Kerr nailed yet another, and F&M junior guard Steve Tolliver (Wyncote, Pa.)
matched his counterpart.
At 13:19 remaining in regulation, Hueber scored a lay-up to
take back the lead, 50-49. However, F&M then went on an 8-0 spurt to take
the 57-50 advantage. A three-pointer from Izzo and a lay-up from junior forward
Richard Roach (Monticello,
Ind.) helped
cut the deficit down to two points with a little under ten minutes left.
However, the Mariners were only able to get as close as two points on two other
occasions with the last coming at 5:30 remaining.
For the Mariners, Kerr finished with a team-high 17 points
off the bench. Impressively, the Oakdale native was 5-for-7 from downtown. He
also dished out three assists. Hueber posted the double-double with 16 points
and ten boards. Moreover, the junior recorded four assists and three steals.
Izzo and Samuel contributed 12 and eight points, respectively. For the
Diplomats, junior forward James McNally
(Bridgewater, N.J.) scored 19 points and grabbed 13
rebounds, both were game-highs. Sophomore guard Georgio Milligan (Spring Valley, N.Y.) added 16 points, while senior guard Anthony Brooks (Orlando, Fla.)
finished with 14.
Please visit www.usmmasports.com
for all offseason news and notes concerning the Mariners and to follow Head
Coach John Krikorian as he brings in a new and exciting recruit class and
prepares for the 2010-11 campaign.
Name: Chaise Dunn