In the latest NCAA Division III statistical release, the US Merchant Marine Academy men's and women's basketball teams both rank among the national leaders in field-goal percentage defense, scoring defense and rebounding margin.

The women's squad, led by third-year head coach Mike Murray ranks second in the nation (behind Norwich) with a .290 field-goal percentage defense. The Mariners (12-8) also rank seventh in scoring defense (48.1), while their +4.8 rebounding margin is the 50th-best mark in the land.

Meanwhile, fourth-year head coach Chris Carideo's USMMA team (12-8) sports a .382 field-goal percentage defense - good for 14th place on the current rankings list. The Mariners' 62.0 points per-game allowed ranks 25th, while the team's +6.4 rebounding margin is good for 41st.

Mirror images of sorts, both squads currently sit in fourth place in the Skyline Conference standings with identical 12-8 records overall, and 6-3 marks in conference play.

The U.S Merchant Marine Academy women's basketball team started out the second half of last Thursday night's game at Merriman Gymnasium by hitting just three field goals in the first 10 minutes, as the Mariners (12-9) fell at service-academy arch-rival Coast Guard by the score of 67-46.

With the victory the host Bears (12-10), who snapped a three-game losing streak, pushed CGA ahead of USMMA (12-9) in the schools' race for the Superintendents' Trophy on the year, 6-5.

The Mariners were in the game for much of the first half, as the teams flip-flopped the lead and never got ahead by more than seven points apiece. Coast Guard went into the locker room with a 31-27 halftime advantage.

A 22-6 run by the hosts in the first 10 minutes of the second half spelled doom for the Blue and Gray, as Coast Guard went up 53-33 with 9:50 remaining.

Freshman Skyline Conference Rookie of the Year candidate May Marie Hayes was the only player to finish with a .500-plus field goal percentage, coming off the USMMA bench to go 7-for-12 from the floor for a team-high 18 points. Sophomore Marisa Olson added seven points and a team-high nine rebounds for the Mariners.

Coast Guard senior Lis Bosma scored 17 of her game-high 25 points in the first half, while senior Amy Harmel had 16 points, all in the second half as Coast Guard. Mary Arvidson added a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards.

Head coach Mike Murray's USMMA team has all four of its remaining regular-season games against Skyline Conference competition, and currently sits in fourth place with a 6-3 record in league play.

Freshman May Marie Hayes scored a team-high 18 points to go with nine rebounds as the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy women's basketball team held on for a 62-59 Skyline Conference win over Manhattanville College. The win moved the Mariners into a tie for third place in the conference standings with Stevens.

The Blue and Gray led 31-24 at the half, but found themselves up by just one-point, 46-45, midway through the second half. The Mariners then made a nine-point run to take a 55-45 lead with 7:14 remaining in the game. The Valiants made an 8-1 run to close the game, but it was not enough as USMMA held on for the win.

Sophomore Kaitlin Mulgrew scored 11 points with seven assists, while classmates Beth Bogart and Ashley Carlisle netted 10 points each. Bogart also grabbed 12 boards for her first career double-double.

Beth Hickey scored a game-high 25 points in the loss. Teammate Kait Herman chipped in with 10 points and a game-high 18 rebounds.

Senior Captain Josh Buck scored a game-high 19 points, including a game-winning three pointer with one second remaining on the clock, while pulling down 12 boards to give the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy men's basketball team a 44-41 Skyline Conference Win over visiting Yeshiva. The win improved USMMA to 13-8 on the season and 7-3 in Skyline Conference play.

With his 19 points, Buck moved into sole possession of seventh place on the Academy's all-time scoring list with 1,414 career points. He passed Derrick Shirley, who scored 1,400 points from 1983-87 and now sits 54 points behind Johnny Garrett, who netted 1,468 points from 1996-01, for sixth on the all-time scoring list.

The Mariners led 27-18 at the break, but the Maccabees gradually chipped away at the lead and tied the game on a Jonathan Rothenberg lay-up with 11 seconds remaining in the game. The Mariners then pushed the ball up court and set up Buck for the game winning three-pointer.

Junior Zach Wyatte missed a double-double of his own as he scored nine points with a game high 13 rebounds. Sophomore Brian Kelly chipped in with eight points for the Blue and Gray.

Ian Ribald netted a team high 15 points for Yeshiva (11-8, 6-5 Skyline) in the loss.

The US Merchant Marine Academy men's basketball team fell into a shooting slump last Saturday afternoon at the Clark Athletic Center, as the Mariners shot 33.3 percent from the floor in a 66-53 Skyline Conference road loss at the hands of Old Westbury.

The visiting Mariners (13-9, 7-4 Skyline), who still sit in third place in the conference and control their own destiny in an attempt to secure the second seed in the Feb. 21-26 Skyline Conference Tournament, also shot 3-for-21 from 3-point range on the day. Included in that mark was a 1-for-14 slide in the second half, as USMMA was attempting to come back from a 29-24 halftime advantage held by the host Panthers (10-13, 7-5 Skyline).

Old Westbury did its part to ensure that the Blue and Gray could not mount a comeback by shooting a scorching 61.9 percent (13-for-21) from the floor in the second frame, and 50 percent on the afternoon overall. USMMA did cut what was a 12-point Panthers lead down to 51-46 on a Zach Wyatte in with 5:49 left in the contest. But a 10-3 run by the hosts over the next four minutes effective sealed the Mariners' fate.

Seniors Joe Hart and Josh Buck led the way for USMMA, with Hart coming off the bench to score a team-high 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting. Buck, who drained a late 3-pointer in the closing seconds of Thursday's 44-41 victory over Yeshiva, notched his second-straight double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Jared Weir registered 20 points, including a 6-for-9 display from beyond the 3-point arc, to lead all scorers. Russell Brereton added a double-double of his own (10 points, 11 rebounds) for Old Westbury.

Victories in the first six matches of the night, including two forfeit and a pair of major decisions, staked the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy wrestling team to an insurmountable 26-0 lead last Wednesday at Liebertz Gymnasium, as the Mariners recorded a 26-15 victory over visiting Hunter College.

The dual meet, held in front of 619 fans, was the last of the 2004-05 campaign for both teams, and served as the final competition tune-up for the squads' respective conference championships.

USMMA, whose 12-5 record is the best mark thus far in seventh-year head coach Tim Alger's tenure at the school, got a quick 3-0 lead after freshman 133-pounder Matthew Maris started the night with a 9-3 decision over the Hawks' (6-8) Matt Myers.

After forfeit victories for the Mariners at 141 Dan Villanova and 149 Bryan Nelson and Danny Song recorded his team-leading 21st victory of the season, wrestling up a weight class to score a 12-4 major decison over Joe Lovello.

Fellow junior Nate Van de Venter followed suit with a major decision of his own at 165, a 10-1 victory over Erik Giannini. Following freshman Troy McGuinness' 7-5 decision over Hunter's Lamar Brown at 174, the Blue and Gray held a 26-0 lead that clinched the victory.

Shintaro Higashi (184), Edward Parra (197) and eighth-ranked Arkadiy Levitan (HWT) gained decision victories in the next three matches for Hunter, before T.J. Lazarus got the Hawks six points with a forfeit win at 125 to end the night.

Alger's USMMA team will be making history on Saturday, Feb. 19, when they travel to Allentown, Pa., for the Centennial Conference championships. This year marks the Mariners' first campaign in the conference (along with Stevens), and the winner of each of the 10 weight classes receives a bid to the NCAA Division III Championships in March.

Hunter will look to secure NCAA bids of its on Feb. 20 at the Metropolitan Conference Championships in Ewing, N.J.