Mariners Get Early Jump on Gophers, Prevail by 11
TOWSON, Md. — After Goucher's Marcus Cotton (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) answered a 3-point basket by Reed Buck from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy by knocking down a long-distance shot of his own, creating a 3-3 tie just 56 seconds into tonight's Landmark Conference game, the Gophers went without another field goal for more than seven minutes.
Cotton Edges Buck by One Point for Game-High Honors
TOWSON, Md. — After Goucher's Marcus Cotton (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) answered a 3-point basket by Reed Buck from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy by knocking down a long-distance shot of his own, creating a 3-3 tie just 56 seconds into tonight's Landmark Conference game, the Gophers went without another field goal for more than seven minutes.
The Mariners took full advantage of the situation, opening up a 15-4 advantage with a 3-point basket by Frank Wiseley with 12:20 still remaining in the first half on the way to a 73-62 triumph over head coach Leonard Trevino's Gophers.
Following Wiseley's 3-pointer, the Gophers (3-17, 0-10 Landmark) closed to within 15-6 on Cotton's made jumper in the paint, but when Merchant Marine's subsequent possession ended with a 3-pointer by Reed Buck, the Mariners (9-12, 4-6 Landmark) owned a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
Buck, the leading scorer for the Mariners in all but three of their 20 games this season coming into tonight's contest, led the way again as he contributed 24 points to the victory, which gives Merchant Marine a 9-3 edge in the all-time series between the two schools.
Cotton, however, nipped Buck by a point for game-high honors. The senior forward was 8-for-10 from the field, made all four of his 3-point tries, and missed only one of his six foul shots as he produced 25 points.
Cotton also finished with team-high totals in rebounds (8), assists (3), steals (2) and blocked shots (1).
The only other double-figure scorer for Goucher was Troy Parker Jr. (Baltimore, Md./Milford Mill) with 13 points.