Farmingdale State - 96, Merchant Marine - 58
Farmingdale, N.Y. - The Farmingdale State men's basketball team defeated Skyline opponent Merchant Marine this evening, 96-58. With the win, the Rams improved to 6-2 overall and 4-0 in the conference.
Prior to the game, senior guard Matthew Graham (Valley Stream, N.Y.) and senior forward George Riefenstahl (Bayport, N.Y.) were each honored for reaching the 1,000 point mark on Tuesday night at Old Westbury. The pair each received a basketball embroidered with their name and the date. Graham and Riefenstahl became just the sixth and seventh player in school history to surpass 1,000 career points.
Farmingdale State jumped out to a quick 8-2 advantage in the first 2:16 on a three-point play from Graham, a Ryan Kennedy (Maspeth, N.Y.) 3-pointer and a layup from senior guard Ali Mableton (Brentwood, N.Y.).
Trailing 15-4 with 14:28 on the clock, Mariners' (0-5, 0-3 Skyline) junior guard Mike Morsberger (Catonsville, Md.) recorded back-to-back layups to cut the deficit to seven, 15-8. After a layup from Rams' junior guard Troy Feeney (Hewlett, N.Y.), USMMA produced two straight layups to close within five, 17-12.
Leading 21-15, FSC junior guard Kyle Beeson (South Jamaica, N.Y.) produced four straight points before a free-throw by sophomore guard Joseph Santoro (Levittown, N.Y.) capped off a 5-0 run to go ahead by 11.
With 4:53 left in the first half, the Rams used a pair of 3's by junior guard Anthony Miller Jr. (Yonkers, N.Y.) and Graham to open up their largest lead of the half, 39-24.
FSC entered the halftime break leading by 13, 45-32, as Mableton led all scorers with nine first half points.
After the Mariners opened the second half with a pair of free-throws to cut the deficit to 45-34, FSC went on a 20-5 run, which featured 3's from Graham, Kennedy and Feeney, to take a commanding 65-39 advantage.
Leading 69-46, Farmingdale State junior guard Chaz Platt (Jamaica, N.Y.) connected on a 3 before back-to-back dunks by freshman forward De'Shawn Todman (Deer Park, N.Y.) and Beeson gave the Rams a 30-point edge, 76-46, with 9:15 left on the clock.
With 7:33 left and FSC ahead 78-50, Miller Jr. knocked down a 3 before junior forward Can Oztimurlenk (Islip, N.Y.) made a layup to go up 83-50.
Over the final six minutes, the Rams outscored Merchant Marine 13-8 as they earned the Skyline victory, 96-58.
Graham recorded a game-high 14 points, while Miller Jr. tallied a career-high 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting. Feeney registered 12 points and six rebounds and Beeson produced 12 points, including 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. Oztimurlenk tallied career-highs with 10 points and four rebounds in eight minutes off the bench, Mableton finished with nine points and four assists, and Riefenstahl tallied seven points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Sophomore guard Eric Stapleton (Hauppauge, N.Y.) added a career-high three assists in the victory.
As a team, the Rams had 25 assists on their 37 field goals, a mark that ranks fourth all-time.
The Rams next host Purchase College for a Skyline Conference game on Saturday, December 8th at 2:30 p.m.
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