Jan 12, 2008

Mariners Earn Overtime Victory Over Catholic

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Pat Grace hit four three-point field goals, including the eventual game-winning shot, to help lead the United States Merchant Marine Academy men's basketball team to a 70-65 victory over Catholic in overtime at Washington D.C. on Saturday night. It was the Mariners' fifth straight win of the season and the second straight over a Landmark Conference opponent on the road. The game featured 15 lead changes and eight ties.

USMMA improved to 5-7 overall, 2-1 in Landmark Conference action. Catholic dropped to 7-7 overall, 1-2 in Landmark Conference play.

"It was a great effort by our guys to beat a very, very good basketball team on the road," said Head Coach John Krikorian afterwards. "We're thankful to get out of there with a win. It's just ashame that somebody had to lose that game. That was one of the best basketball games I have seen in years. Kids on both sides were making plays, and we were just fortunate to be on the winning end."

Once again, Krikorian got a balanced effort from his entire roster. Grace hit two of his three-pointers in overtime and finished with 12 points overall to go along with a team-best four steals. Ryan Samuel had 11 points, five rebounds and four assists. Rich Roach added 12 points - which all came in the second half - and five rebounds. Matt Hueber scored eight points overall and six in overtime to go along with a team-best seven rebounds. Tom Izzo finished with 10 points and was a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc. C

atholic was led by freshman post player Chris McGrew, who racked up 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Nick Olivero added 10 points and a team-leadin four steals while Jason Banzhaf came down with six boards.

The first half featured three ties and 10 lead changes. After Evin Yarbrough hit the game's initial basket at 17:43 to give Catholic a 2-0 lead, Grace nailed a three-point field goal off a feed from Izzo to give the Mariners a 3-2 lead at 17:06. After a few lead changes, Grace came through again from downtown to make it 15-14 in favor of USMMA at 9:38. It was the Mariners' fifth straight three-point field goal to open the game.

Catholic would hold the lead for most of what remained in the first half, but the Mariners had one last run in them before recess. Trailing 26-21 with under four minutes remaining, Samuel netted two three-pointers in a row to give USMMA a 27-26 advantage with under two minutes left in the half.

After Danny Quinn converted a layup to put the Cardinals up by a point with 58 seconds on the clock, Izzo hit another three-pointer on the Mariners' ensuing possession and put them ahead, 30-28. They would take that lead into the break. Eight of the Mariners' nine field goals, including the first five, came from behind the arc in the first stanza.

Catholic went on a 7-0 run to begin the second half to take a 35-30 lead before Matt Oaks broke it with a layup. The Cardinals built up a 41-36 advantage with 13:39 left in regulation, but the Mariners responded once again with 11 straight points to go ahead by a score of 47-41.

While the Mariners had been scoring three points at a time thanks to strong shooting from behind the arc, the opening nine points of the 11-0 run came on a trio of three-point plays the old-fashioned way. Roach hit two layups and two free throws following each made basket to give the Mariners a 42-41 lead with just under 11 minutes to go in regulation. Two possessions later, freshman Quincy Doffeny came off the bench for the first time also made a layup and the ensuing free throw after getting fouled on the play and Hueber followed up with a layup to give the Mariners a 47-41 edge.

Coming out of a timeout, Doffeny made the Mariner bench and the crowd which featured a strong turnout of alumni stand up and cheer once again. Roach missed a layup from the right block, but Doffeny skied into the air above everyone and dunked the ball to put the Mariners ahead by seven points. Samuel followed up on USMMA's next possession to put the Mariners up 54-45 and forced Catholic to take a timeout of its own with 4:41 left to play.

The Cardinals came out of the timeout and went on a 9-0 run to tie the game up at 54-54 with 49 seconds left to play. USMMA tried to kill the clock on its next possession and found Roach down low. Roach went in for the layup once again on the right side, but he was fouled by McGrew. He converted both of his free throws with 24 seconds to go which gave the Mariners a 56-54 advantage. Krikorian took his last timeout to set up his defense.

After the timeout, McGrew nailed a layup to tie the game at 56-56 and was fouled. With a chance to put the Cardinals ahead, McGrew's free throw hit the back end of the rim and was rebounded by Hueber.

USMMA brought the ball back down to the other end of the floor and called its last timeout with three seconds to go. Samuel inbounded the ball from the baseline to Roach. The freshman tried to get a shot off, but he was double teamed and had to force one that missed as the buzzer sounded to force overtime. The teams were deadlocked at 56-56.

McGrew hit two free throw shots on the Cardinals' first possession of the extra frame to go ahead 58-56. However, Doffeny found a cutting Hueber who converted a layup to tie the score for the eighth time of the contest at 58-58. Catholic then scored the next four points courtesy of a free throw by Banzhaf and a three-pointer by R.J. Dixon with under two minutes to go in the extra frame.

On the Mariners' next possession, Grace drove down the left baseline and bounced a pass to Hueber who was on the left elbow. Hueber drove in for the score and cut the Cardinal lead to just two points at 62-60 with 1:30 left to play. Olivero turned the ball over on the Cardinals next possession which forced the team to take a timeout with 1:16 on the clock.

Grace, who is one of the veterans on the team without any seniors, took over for the Mariners following the Cardinal timeout. He hit a three-pointer on the Mariners first possession to give his team a 63-62 advantage. After Catholic's Sean Stolzenthaler responded with a three-point field goal of his own which made it 65-63, Grace hit another shot from downtown to put the Mariners ahead again, 66-65, with about 22 seconds left to go.

Catholic would have another chance at the last shot to win the game, but Grace stole the ball in the back court. He found Samuel and the Cardinals were forced to foul him with 13 seconds left. Samuel made both of his free throws to give USMMA a 68-65 lead.

The Cardinals had one more chance to at least tie the game, but a feisty Mariner defense forced Stolzenthaler to throw the ball out of bounds with 1.8 seconds left. McGrew committed his fifth foul on Hueber before Samuel could pass the ball in and the freshman went to the line to try and ice the game. He came through by draining both of his shots at the charity stripe. A desperation shot taken at half court by Olivero fell short and USMMA escaped with the 70-65 win.

The men's basketball team will look to win its sixth straight game on Tuesday evening when Wesleyan University of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) visits Kings Point. Game time at the James Liebertz Gymnasium is slated for 7 p.m.


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USMMA improved to 5-7 overall, 2-1 in Landmark Conference action. Catholic dropped to 7-7 overall, 1-2 in Landmark Conference play. "It was a great effort by our guys to beat a very, very good basketball team on the road," said Head Coach John Krikorian afterwards. "We're thankful to get out of there with a win. It's just ashame that somebody had to lose that game. That was one of the best basketball games I have seen in years. Kids on both sides were making plays, and we were just fortunate to be on the winning end." Once again, Krikorian got a balanced effort from his entire roster. Grace hit two of his three-pointers in overtime and finished with 12 points overall to go along with a team-best four steals. Ryan Samuel had 11 points, five rebounds and four assists. Rich Roach added 12 points - which all came in the second half - and five rebounds. Matt Hueber scored eight points overall and six in overtime to go along with a team-best seven rebounds. Tom Izzo finished with 10 points and was a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc. C atholic was led by freshman post player Chris McGrew, who racked up 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Nick Olivero added 10 points and a team-leadin four steals while Jason Banzhaf came down with six boards. The first half featured three ties and 10 lead changes. After Evin Yarbrough hit the game's initial basket at 17:43 to give Catholic a 2-0 lead, Grace nailed a three-point field goal off a feed from Izzo to give the Mariners a 3-2 lead at 17:06. After a few lead changes, Grace came through again from downtown to make it 15-14 in favor of USMMA at 9:38. It was the Mariners' fifth straight three-point field goal to open the game. Catholic would hold the lead for most of what remained in the first half, but the Mariners had one last run in them before recess. Trailing 26-21 with under four minutes remaining, Samuel netted two three-pointers in a row to give USMMA a 27-26 advantage with under two minutes left in the half. After Danny Quinn converted a layup to put the Cardinals up by a point with 58 seconds on the clock, Izzo hit another three-pointer on the Mariners' ensuing possession and put them ahead, 30-28. They would take that lead into the break. Eight of the Mariners' nine field goals, including the first five, came from behind the arc in the first stanza. Catholic went on a 7-0 run to begin the second half to take a 35-30 lead before Matt Oaks broke it with a layup. The Cardinals built up a 41-36 advantage with 13:39 left in regulation, but the Mariners responded once again with 11 straight points to go ahead by a score of 47-41. While the Mariners had been scoring three points at a time thanks to strong shooting from behind the arc, the opening nine points of the 11-0 run came on a trio of three-point plays the old-fashioned way. Roach hit two layups and two free throws following each made basket to give the Mariners a 42-41 lead with just under 11 minutes to go in regulation. Two possessions later, freshman Quincy Doffeny came off the bench for the first time also made a layup and the ensuing free throw after getting fouled on the play and Hueber followed up with a layup to give the Mariners a 47-41 edge. Coming out of a timeout, Doffeny made the Mariner bench and the crowd which featured a strong turnout of alumni stand up and cheer once again. Roach missed a layup from the right block, but Doffeny skied into the air above everyone and dunked the ball to put the Mariners ahead by seven points. Samuel followed up on USMMA's next possession to put the Mariners up 54-45 and forced Catholic to take a timeout of its own with 4:41 left to play. The Cardinals came out of the timeout and went on a 9-0 run to tie the game up at 54-54 with 49 seconds left to play. USMMA tried to kill the clock on its next possession and found Roach down low. Roach went in for the layup once again on the right side, but he was fouled by McGrew. He converted both of his free throws with 24 seconds to go which gave the Mariners a 56-54 advantage. Krikorian took his last timeout to set up his defense. After the timeout, McGrew nailed a layup to tie the game at 56-56 and was fouled. With a chance to put the Cardinals ahead, McGrew's free throw hit the back end of the rim and was rebounded by Hueber. USMMA brought the ball back down to the other end of the floor and called its last timeout with three seconds to go. Samuel inbounded the ball from the baseline to Roach. The freshman tried to get a shot off, but he was double teamed and had to force one that missed as the buzzer sounded to force overtime. The teams were deadlocked at 56-56. McGrew hit two free throw shots on the Cardinals' first possession of the extra frame to go ahead 58-56. However, Doffeny found a cutting Hueber who converted a layup to tie the score for the eighth time of the contest at 58-58. Catholic then scored the next four points courtesy of a free throw by Banzhaf and a three-pointer by R.J. Dixon with under two minutes to go in the extra frame. On the Mariners' next possession, Grace drove down the left baseline and bounced a pass to Hueber who was on the left elbow. Hueber drove in for the score and cut the Cardinal lead to just two points at 62-60 with 1:30 left to play. Olivero turned the ball over on the Cardinals next possession which forced the team to take a timeout with 1:16 on the clock. Grace, who is one of the veterans on the team without any seniors, took over for the Mariners following the Cardinal timeout. He hit a three-pointer on the Mariners first possession to give his team a 63-62 advantage. After Catholic's Sean Stolzenthaler responded with a three-point field goal of his own which made it 65-63, Grace hit another shot from downtown to put the Mariners ahead again, 66-65, with about 22 seconds left to go. Catholic would have another chance at the last shot to win the game, but Grace stole the ball in the back court. He found Samuel and the Cardinals were forced to foul him with 13 seconds left. Samuel made both of his free throws to give USMMA a 68-65 lead. The Cardinals had one more chance to at least tie the game, but a feisty Mariner defense forced Stolzenthaler to throw the ball out of bounds with 1.8 seconds left. McGrew committed his fifth foul on Hueber before Samuel could pass the ball in and the freshman went to the line to try and ice the game. He came through by draining both of his shots at the charity stripe. A desperation shot taken at half court by Olivero fell short and USMMA escaped with the 70-65 win. The men's basketball team will look to win its sixth straight game on Tuesday evening when Wesleyan University of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) visits Kings Point. Game time at the James Liebertz Gymnasium is slated for 7 p.m.
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