After taking a quick 2-0 lead on a lay-in by senior tri-captain Gabe Whitney, the hosts fell behind the Valiants for the next 19 minutes. Manhattanville's Farid Johnson, the leading scorer in the Skyline Conference, scored half of his game-high-tying 16 points in the opening frame and helped the visitors push their lead to 25-19 with 6 minutes remaining. Down 29-25 with 1:21 left in the half, back-to-back Kings Point 3-point field goals by junior Joe Hart and freshman Brian Kelly gave the Mariners a 31-29 advantage at the intermission.
The Blue and Gray never trailed again, and head coach Chris Carideo's squad improved its record when leading at halftime to 10-1 on the year. Kings Point knocked down 15 of its 23 field goals in the second stanza, but couldn't quite shake off the Valiants for the first 12 minutes of the half. After a Johnson layup with 8:32 cut his squad's deficit to four points (52-48), the Mariners scored the next 15 points of the contest over a 6:01 span, putting the game out of doubt and sending the Valiants to their second-consecutive defeat.
Individually for Kings Point, junior tri-captain Josh Buck registered his eighth double-double of the season, racking up 14 points (4-for-6 FG, 3-for-4 3FG) and pulling down a game-high 15 rebounds. Whitney tied Johnson (eight rebounds) for the game-high with 16 points on 7-for-13 shooting, while senior tri-captain Mark Medvetz added 11 points for the Mariners.
For Manhattanville, Eric Harris scored 13 points on 6-for-10 field-goal shooting, while John Danielski scored seven points and pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.
Carideo's bunch looks to win its third-consecutive game Saturday afternoon (Feb. 7) against Skyline contender SUNY Old Westbury. The Mariners have the luxury of playing the game in the friendly confines of Liebertz Gymnasium, where Kings Point has won 39 of its last 40 contests against Skyline foes. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Manhattanville vs U.S. Merchant Marine Academy 2/4/04 7 p.m. at Kings Point, N.Y. - Liebertz Gymnasium At Kings Point, N.Y. - Liebertz Gymnasium U.S. MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY 68, MANHATTANVILLE 53 MANHATTANVILLE (14-6, 8-2) Farid Johnson 6-14 4-4 16; Eric Harris 6-10 1-1 13; John Danielski 2-15 3-6 7; Dan DiMartino 2-8 2-4 6; Mike Benziger 2-14 0-0 5; John Rahn 1-1 2-2 4; Lubin Fidegbnigban 1-1 0-0 2; Kevin O'Rourke 0-3 0-0 0; John DiBetta 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-67 12-17 53. U.S. MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY (11-9, 5-4) Whitney, Gabe 7-13 2-3 16; Buck, Josh 4-6 3-5 14; Medvetz, Mark 4-9 0-0 11; McDade, Stephen 3-5 0-0 7; Wyatte, Zach 2-4 0-0 4; Kelly, Brian 1-1 1-2 4; Gartner, Glenn 2-2 0-0 4; Hart, Joe 1-6 0-0 3; Fassnacht, Jonathan 1-2 0-0 3; Tricarico, Paul 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 26-53 6-10 68. Manhattanville................ 29 24 - 53 U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.. 31 37 - 68 3-point goals-Manhattanville 1-16 (Mike Benziger 1-8; Eric Harris 0-1; John Danielski 0-2; Dan DiMartino 0-1; John DiBetta 0-1; Farid Johnson 0-3), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy 10-18 (Medvetz, Mark 3-6; Buck, Josh 3-4; Hart, Joe 1-4; Fassnacht, Jonathan 1-2; McDade, Stephen 1-1; Kelly, Brian 1-1). Fouled out--Manhattanville-None, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy-None. Rebounds-Manhattanville 35 (John Danielski 10), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy 40 (Buck, Josh 15). Assists-Manhattanville 6 (Eric Harris 2; Dan DiMartino 2), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy 16 (Tricarico, Paul 5). Total fouls-Manhattanville 12, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy 13. A-206 Skyline Conference contest KP - Winners of two straight; vs. Old Westbury (Sat., 2 p.m.) M'Ville - Losers of two straight KP - 10-1 when leading at halftime; 11-2 when shooting better FG% than opp.