Men’s Basketball Edged by USMMA

Kings Point, NY| Despite erasing a halftime deficit, the St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's basketball team was narrowly defeated by the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, 69-67, in a Skyline Conference contest on Tuesday evening.

The loss sends the Golden Eagles to 4-13 (4-8 Skyline) on the season as the Mariners improve to 7-9 overall and 5-7 in conference play.

In total, SJC scored four players in double digits including sophomore Frank Basile who shot 6-for-12 and tallied a team-high 17 points.

Senior Jarred Marrow also shot 6-for-12 from the field and scored 16 points while fellow classmen Trey Kinard and Stephen Cohen went for 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Junior Eddie Higgins grabbed a team-best 13 rebounds and USMMA's David Washington (8-for-14 FG) led all players with 18 points.

After falling behind early, Kinard's three-pointer with 4:43 left in the first saw the Golden Eagles take a 24-23 lead, but a 11-5 run by the hosts ensured their lead was 34-29 at the break.

SJC climbed back into the lead (54-53) when Higgins drained a pair of free throws, but again the Mariners had the response, this time in the form of an 8-2 run that saw them pull ahead 61-56 at 3:53.

Down 69-61 with less than two minutes to play, Cohen and Kinard cut the deficit to two points with consecutive three-pointers, but USMMA held off the guests from there to earn the 69-67 victory.

Far superior from three, SJC outshot the Mariners 50.0% to 29.4% and also held a slim advantage from the field (42.9% to 42.6%). Despite being outscored in the paint (32-12), St. Joseph's controlled the boards, outrebounding USMMA 39-34.

The Golden Eagles return to action on Thursday, February 1 when they host Skyline Conference rival SUNY Old Westbury in the Danzi Center at 7:00 pm.