Throggs Neck, NY – Senior center Robert Benton (Montgomery, Ala./G.W. Carver) (Montgomery, AL/GW Carver) scored a game high 20 points, but his and the rest of the Privateers efforts would not be enough to defeat their conference rival, Saint Joseph’s-Patchogue, as they drop their fourth conference game by a score of 67-62 on Saturday evening in the Bronx.

 

The first half was a constant back and forth brawl, with four lead changes, and a half time score of 36-33 in favor of Saint Joseph’s. The Privateer defense forced nine turnovers in the first half alone, which resulted in seven points for the home team. The pace of the game did not change much in the second half, both teams held leads one point during the half and all of the action remained constant right down to the last ticks on the clock.

 

As the game clock went under two minutes, Saint Joseph’s was holding onto a 59-57 lead, with Maritime just getting warmed up to make a push for the win. Following a 30 second time and trailing by five points, Benton nailed a three pointer off an inbounds pass from senior guard Marc Lashley (Queens, N.Y./Holy Cross), bringing the Privateers to within two points with 41 seconds left on the game clock. A foul with 11 seconds left on the clock would send sophomore center Chris Niblock to the line with the chance to put Saint Joseph’s up by four points. Niblock would make the first, but miss the second and the Privateers got the rebound. However, with a very young team, the inexperience in clutch situations like this showed through and the ball was quickly turned over when they could have called a time out to get a final shot. Following two made free throws by the Golden Eagles, Maritime would again turn the ball over, handing Saint Joe’s the win.

 

Freshman forward Timothy Dougherty (Fresh Meadows, NY/St. Francis Prep) had another incredible game, scoring 15 of his 16 points in the first half and finished the game with a team high of eight rebounds.

 

Foul trouble plagued the Privateers as the game shifted into crunch time. Starting freshman guard Kenneth Kelly (Belle Harbor, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) (Belle Harbor, NY/Archbishop Molloy) and senior forward Gerard Danzy (Monroeville, Ala./Hillcrest) (Monroeville, AL/Hillcrest) both fouled out with under two and half minutes left to go. Danzy still had a solid effort with 10 points and eight rebounds, while Kelly recorded six points, five rebounds and four assists in the game.

 

The Golden Eagles had three finish in double-digits with junior forward Jorge Martinez (Brentwood, NY/Brentwood) leading the way with 16 points and four rebounds. Sophomore guard Phil Lipari (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) finished with 13 points and five rebounds, while standout freshman guard David Acree (Wheatley Heights, NY/Brentwood) had 12 points and four rebounds.

 

Today’s loss drops Maritime to 3-10 on the year and 0-4 in the Skyline Conference while Saint Joseph’s breaks even with a 2-2 record in the Skyline and are now 8-6 overall.

 

On Tuesday, January 17th, the Privateers will travel across the Throggs Neck to take on longtime school rival, the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point. Heading into Tuesday’s game, both teams will still be winless in the Skyline Conference, and the winner will reward themselves with a big edge on the other team as they look to vie for the last playoff spot in the conference.

 

 

- Maritime -

Team Stat Comparison
	Saint Joseph's	Maritime
Points	67	62
FG Made-Attempted	23-58 (.397)	22-57 (.386)
3P Made-Attempted	8-22 (.364)	6-20 (.300)
FT Made-Attempted	13-25 (.520)	12-23 (.522)
Rebounds (Off-Def-Tot)	15-22-37	17-27-44
Assists	14	18
Turnovers	15	20
Steals	10	7
Blocks	2	1
Bench Points	16	3
Fouls (Tech)	20 (none)	17 (none)
Largest Lead	7	1