The Blue and Gray men's basketball team ended their 1999-2000 campaign with a 72-55 loss on the road at #3 Montclair State University in the first round of the ECAC Championships on Wednesday, March 1. Kings Point, seeded #6 in the ECACs, ended the year with a 17-11 record.

In the first half, the two teams played even and traded baskets the duration of the stanza. Entering the intermission, Montclair led 35-34. The Mariners began the second half jumping into the lead for the first time since the inaugural basket of the game. Kings Point held the edge until the athletic Red Hawks of Montclair went on a 19-0 run over an eight minute span to take a commanding 59-42 lead.

With 17 players listed on the roster and 14 seeing time in the game, Montclair used their depth to help secure the win. The Montclair State reserves outscored the Kings Point bench by a 33-2 margin. The Mariners struggled in their shooting in the second half as well, going 10-29 from the floor including 1-10 from beyond the arc and 0-9 from the free-throw line.

Senior center Mike Hyland (White Plains, NY) led all scorers with 21 points. He also had seven rebounds and a block. Sophomore Kevin Bernick (Toms River, NJ) had 15 points and sophomore Nat Barton (Hummelstown, PA) added eight. Senior Johnny Garrett (Missouri City, TX) led the rebounding effort with eight grabs and he also registered a team-high seven assists.

The Skyline Conference announced on Friday that the 1999-2000 Player of the Year is senior guard Johnny Garrett of the US Merchant Marine Academy. This is the fourth consecutive year that the Conference Player of the Year has come from Kings Point. Garrett, also selected First-Team All-Conference, led the team in both scoring and rebounding with 16.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. He finished his career in 17th place on the Academy's All-Time Scoring List with 1,035 points after scoring a team-high 452 points this season. Garrett recorded 103 assists, 45 steals and shot 41.0 percent from the field and earned Skyline Player of the Week honors on three occasions for his play.

Also earning First-Team honors was senior center Mike Hyland, a team co-captain who averaged 13.3 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game. Hyland improved his skills underneath and became a force Kings Point could rely on this season. He was second on the team in scoring this season and finished his career with 872 points.

The third member of the Blue and Gray to earn accolades was sophomore co-captain Nat Barton who was named a Skyline Conference Second-Team All-Star. Barton, the team's point guard started all 28 games and averaged 36.9 minutes per game. Barton led the team with his 6.0 assists per game and was third in scoring with 12.3 points per game.

The NCAA official released the names of those Division III swimmers who qualified for the National Championships on Thursday, March 2. Junior James Hogan (Woodland, CA) will be seeded 12th in the 400 Individual Medley with a time of 4:05.33. This will be the second trip to Nationals for Hogan. He competed during his freshman year, but missed qualifying in 1999.

After qualifying in one event, a swimmer is eligible to compete in up to three events at the NCAAs. Hogan will also swim the 500 Free in which he was seeded 21st with a time of 4:39.86. His third event will be either the 100 Fly (21st seed¬51.40) or the 200 Fly (27th seed¬1:59.62).

Head Coach Frank Vaccaro and Hogan will depart for Emory University in Atlanta, GA on March 14. The Championships will be held on March 16-18.

The North East Collegiate Volleyball Association named sophomore setter Dave Van Duzee (Saugus, CA) of the US Merchant Marine Academy last week's player of the week. Kings Point had a 2-1 week with an upset over #13 Stevens Tech, a win over Lehman, and a loss to #8 SUNY New Paltz. In both five-game matches against Stevens and Lehman, Van Duzee totaled 157 assists. He also tallied a .278 hitting percentage and 1.5 digs per game on the week. Van Duzee also set a new Academy Record in assists in a match against Stevens with 80. The Blue and Gray currently own a 9-10 overall record and a 7-3 NECVA ledger. The Mariners sent a number of indoor track and field athletes to the 2000 Indoor Track and Field Championships at Wheaton College on March 4. Senior Wayne Allen (Danbury, TX) placed fourth in the 55 meter dash in a new Academy Record of 6.41 seconds, currently the 11th fastest time in the country. He also finished second in the 200 meters in 22.07. He was named All-Region by the ECAC in both events. Freshman Kris Houghton (Beaverton, OR) finished seventh in the 1500 meters in 3:57.68. Freshman Steve Hohenshelt (Brookfield, CT) was 16th in the shot put with a toss of 14.02 meters. The debut for two of Kings Point's sailors who have just returned from sea, namely Chris Breland (Rockwall, TX) and Matt Schubert (Annapolis, MD), took place this weekend at the Georgetown Team Race, where the Mariners took sixth place.