Kings Point, NY – Led by seniors Zach Wyatte and Eric Hanson and freshman Alex Loepker, the United States Merchant Marine Academy men’s basketball team put an end to the streaking Baruch Bearcats’ eight-game win streak with a 76-73 victory Tuesday evening at Liebertz Gymnasium.
It looked bleak for the Mariners at the outset as Baruch jumped out to an 8-2 advantage in the opening five minutes of the contest. After trading baskets, Kings Point sliced the six-point deficit in half with a trey by Matt Oaks, to pull the Mariners to within a field goal, 12-9. Two made free throws, followed by a Paul Tricarico jumper to make it a one-point affair, and a Hanson lay up finally was enough to give the Mariners the lead at the 10:49, one they would not relinquish.
Wyatte upped the ante to three 30 seconds later, and Hanson to five with a trifecta to give USMMA the momentum with 9:21 left in the period. After two successful freebies made by the ‘Cats, USMMA responded with a darting 5-0 run courtesy a long ball by Loepker and Wyatte jumper to make it an eight-point Baruch deficit.
USMMA continued to dominate the remainder of the stanza en roué to building a 15 point lead going into the break, 44-29.
At the start of the second, it appeared that the Mariners would cruise to victory as junior Brian Kelly started the period with a three ball to give Kings Point its largest lead of the night, 47-31.
But Baruch hung tough and eventually narrowed the deficit to single-digits at the midway point of the second to make it a competitive game down the stretch. After pulling to within nine thanks to a Carl Emengo long ball with 10:14 left, Baruch made it a two point game minutes later following two free throws by George Kunkel.
USMMA upped their edge to seven with a 6-1 run, but the ‘Cats would once again make another charge to knot the game at 68, courtesy 7-0 run capped by a Kunkel lay up. Wyatte’s lay up two possessions later gave Kings Point the lead for good, but not without one more Bearcats scare.
Following two freebies by Loepker to up the lead to four, Baruch clawed back to within a digit on a Robi Davidson three ball to make it a 74-73 ball game with five seconds remaining. Loepker, who finished the night with 19 points and a career high 15 rebounds, fittingly put the game to rest with two free throws with four seconds left. Wyatte prevented a last look at the basket by stealing the inbounds pass to preserve the win for USMMA.
“The last two games, he (Loepker) moved into the starting lineup in order help us get some leadership off the bench with Hanson and he’s responded well,” said fifth year head coach Chris Carideo. “He’s gotten off the two good starts in the last two games. “He’s rebounding the ball well and making shots. Zach and Alex have carried the load the last two games as well. Hanson did a great job off the bench for us tonight.”
With the win the Mariners, winners of two straight, improve to 2-0 at home and 4-2 on the season. Meanwhile, Baruch fell to 9-2 overall.
“Defensively, we were tuned in the first half,” said Carideo. “We had an opportunity to study film on them thoroughly and our guys defended them exactly the way we asked in the first half. We did a good job on the boards. However, we did not shoot as well in the second half, but were able to hold them off in the end.”
Wyatte tallied a double-double as well with 21 points and 10 boards, while Hanson chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Kelly etched eight points on the night.
Baruch was led by five players in double figures. Cheick Fadika led the way for the ‘Cats with 20 points, while Louie Karis, Kunkel and Davidson notched 17, 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Next up on the docket for USMMA is Lehman, which the Mariners host Thursday night at 7 p.m.
“We’ve circled this week as a big week with thee home games on the schedule, noted Carideo. “Lehman is a great team. They made the post-season last year and are returning an All-American center, who we will need to slow down. Thursday night will be another solid challenge for us.”
Newspaper Box Score Baruch College vs U.S. Merchant Marine Academy 12/13/05 7:00 pm at Kings Point, NY - Liebertz Gym At Kings Point, NY - Liebertz Gym U.S. MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY 76, BARUCH COLLEGE 73 BARUCH COLLEGE (9-2) Fadika, Cheick 7-16 6-7 20; Karis, Louie 5-11 6-9 17; Kunkel, George 4-8 4-4 12; Emengo, Carl 3-9 2-2 10; Davidson, Robi 2-10 4-4 10; Baptiste, Anwar 1-3 0-0 2; Williams, Chris 1-5 0-0 2; Schatz, Phil 0-0 0-0 0; Crane, Ben 0-0 0-0 0; Hepworth, Tim 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-62 22-26 73. U.S. MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY (4-2) Wyatte, Zach 9-15 3-4 21; Loepker, Alex 6-15 4-4 19; Hanson, Eric 3-7 4-6 11; Kelly, Brian 2-10 2-2 8; DeCarlo, Lou 1-3 5-6 7; Oaks, Matt 1-2 1-2 4; Tricarico, Paul 1-7 1-4 3; McDade, Stephen 1-6 1-2 3; Fassnacht, Jonathan 0-0 0-0 0; Icke, Eric 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-66 21-30 76. Baruch College................ 29 44 - 73 U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.. 44 32 - 76 3-point goals-Baruch College 5-18 (Davidson, Robi 2-8; Emengo, Carl 2-3; Karis, Louie 1-4; Williams, Chris 0-1; Kunkel, George 0-1; Fadika, Cheick 0-1), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy 7-25 (Loepker, Alex 3-9; Kelly, Brian 2-4; Hanson, Eric 1-4; Oaks, Matt 1-2; McDade, Stephen 0-2; Tricarico, Paul 0-2; DeCarlo, Lou 0-2). Fouled out--Baruch College-Karis, Louie; Williams, Chris, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy-None. Rebounds-Baruch College 36 (Fadika, Cheick 8), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy 52 (Loepker, Alex 15). Assists-Baruch College 13 (Karis, Louie 4), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy 18 (Tricarico, Paul 6). Total fouls-Baruch College 24, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy 20. A-175 USMMA puts end to Baruch's 8 game win streak Alex Loepker with career high 15 boards Loepker and Wyatt record double doubles Wyatt with game-winning steal