North Adams, MA – Sophomore forward Timothy Dougherty (Fresh Meadows, NY/Saint Francis Prep) scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, coming on strong in extra innings as the Privateers battle the Trailblazers of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts tying an NCAA record of five overtime periods to earn their first victory of the 2006-07 season, 126-124, in men’s basketball action in North Adams, MA.
Junior guard Lamar Fields (Bronx, NY/Rice) was one of five Privateers to finish in double figures, scoring a career high 25 points. Fellow junior, forward
Justen Price (Yonkers, NY/Lincoln), scored 21 points and grabbed 11 boards. The other two Privateers, aside from
Dougherty, to finish in double digits were sophomore guards
Joseph Bracaglia (Jamaica, N.Y./Martin Van Buren) (Jamaica, NY/Martin Van Buren) and
Kenneth Kelly (Belle Harbor, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) (Belle Harbor, NY/Archbishop Molloy) who each finished with 16 points.
In what was a fast paced game, the Privateers held the only lead at the conclusion of a half, leading 38-35 at the end of the first half. They would hold the lead for most of the second half, only to have the Trailblazers sink two from the charity stripe with 38 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
In the second overtime, Maritime seemingly had the game won when Kelly scored with 1.1 seconds left. While celebrating the shot, the Privateers were caught off guard on defense and the Trailblazers sunk an easy layup to send the game into a third overtime.
In the third overtime, Maritime jumped out to an early four-point lead, butt MCLA battled back to tie the game with just 7.5 seconds left to force a fourth extra period.
Dougherty continued to get hot in the extra periods, scoring eight of the Privateers ten points of the fourth overtime. However, he wasn’t the only one turning up the heat as senior guard Adam Garner (North Adams, MA/Drury) scored seven points including two free throws with 18.5 left to send the game into a fifth and final overtime period.
In the final stanza, Kelly sunk a lay-up to give the Privateers an early 119-117 lead, they would not trail the rest of the game. In the final seconds of the period, clinging to a 125-124, freshman forward
Kenneth Chapman (Far Rockaway, N.Y./Robert F. Wagner) (Far Rockaway, NY/Robert F. Wagner) sunk 1-of-2 from the line to give Maritime the two point advantage. MCLA had one final chance at the net, but came up short.
“This was the most draining and emotional game I’ve ever been a part of,” stated Maritime head coach Tom Spina, who is currently in his fourth year with the team and was also a four-year letter winner for the Privateers from 1990-1994. This was the Privateers first multi-overtime game since suffering an 80-78 loss to conference foe Saint Joseph’s College in double-overtime on January 15, 2005. The last single overtime game for Maritime came a year ago against the Trailblazers with the Privateers walking out with an 83-78 win.
Junior guard Dave Bisesi (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Ludden) finished tonight’s game with 47 points, shooting 13-of-22 from the field and 15-of-19 from the free throw line. Garner also finished in double figure for the Trailblazers with 22 points, while junior forward Chris Voght (Lincoln, RI/King Phillip Regional) finished with 19 points in defeat.
Tonight’s victory improves the Privateers to 1-3 overall, while MCLA loses their third straight game via overtime, falling to 0-4 on the year. Maritime now returns to action on Saturday, December 2 when they host the Valiants of Manhattanville College in their first Skyline Conference of the season. Tip-off is set for 2pm from Riesenberg Gymnasium in Throggs Neck, NY.
- MARITIME -
