Throggs Neck, NY – Every time that Maritime faces off against Kings Point, there’s always an electric feeling in the air. Tonight could not have been any more truthful as almost 300 Privateer Faithful packed into Riesenberg Gymnasium to watch history in the making. Tonight a Maritime College men’s basketball team accomplished a goal that no other team had been able to do for the past 16 years, they defeated their foes from across the river at home. In dramatic fashion, the Privateers led by freshman forward Timothy Dougherty (Fresh Meadows, NY/St. Francis Prep), defeated the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point 50-46 Friday night in a Skyline Conference showdown at Maritime College.

 

The game opened up almost exactly as it did a month earlier, with both teams struggling early. The scoring was so slow in the first half that both teams didn’t hit double-digits until there was 3:56 left in the half. At that time, Maritime led by a score of 16-10. The score at intermission read 19-12, combining for less than their previous game, which stood at 25-20 after one in favor of Kings Point.

 

The game seemed to be slowly going in Maritime’s favor, however after trailing by as much as 10 points, the Mariners began to make a slow comeback that was capped off by a jumper from senior Zach Wyatte that gave Kings Point their first lead of the game with 4:31 left to go. The two teams would go onto trade baskets and leads over the next two minutes.

 

Maritime regained the lead with 1:24 left to go in the game following a clutch free throw from senior Robert Benton (Montgomery, Ala./G.W. Carver). With the score standing at 42-41, Maritime would go on a 5-0 run that would ultimately carry them to victory.

 

When examining the stat sheet, both teams made the same amount of field goals and three pointers, so this was a game that was truly won at the free-throw line. Dougherty sank 9-of-10 shots from the charity stripe, five of which came in the last 30 seconds of the game.

 

Dougherty was the only Privateer to score in double-digits, finishing with 20 points and four rebounds. Senior center Robert Benton (Montgomery, Ala./G.W. Carver) (Montgomery, AL/GW Carver) was held to only nine points and senior guard Gerard Danzy (Monroeville, Ala./Hillcrest) (Monroeville, AL/Hillcrest) scored only six points, but added six assists. Senior guard Marc Lashley (Queens, N.Y./Holy Cross) (Queens, NY/Holy Cross) made some key baskets down the stretch scoring eight points and grabbing a team high of six rebounds.

 

Senior center Zach Wyatte (Camp Hill, PA/Trinity) had a monster game for the Mariners scoring 13 points and matched his point total with 13 rebounds. Wyatte played a key role in the Mariners late run the second half. Joining the big man in double figures was freshman forward Alex Loepker (Lafayette, IN/Central Catholic) who finished with 12 points, shooting 50% from the field.

 

“This was a good victory for the team and the school”, said Head Coach Tom Spina who was but a senior in high school the last time that the Maritime basketball team defeated Kings Point at home. So far this season, most of the competitions between these two institutions have remained close and were won in the final seconds. Men’s Soccer took a 1-0 defeat to Kings Point who scored the lone goal in the closing minutes. A month ago, the Wrestling program was one pin shy of grabbing a victory after leading the Mariners for most of the match. When these two basketball teams met in January, the Privateers came one basket short of winning, so tonight was the ultimate retribution not only for that one game, but for all the other team’s that just came up short this season and all the past seasons.

 

Tonight’s victory improves Maritime to 5-15 on the year and they pick up their first conference win of the year. Maritime’s next challenge lies ahead as they will travel to Patchogue, NY on Monday for the second meeting of the season with Saint Joseph’s College. Back in January, the Privateers were six point away from downing the Golden Eagles, losing by a final of 67-62. Now they will look defeat them on their own court. That game will culminate from the Danzi Athletic Center in Patchogue, NY on Monday February 6th with a tip-off time of 8pm.

 

 

– Maritime –

 

Team Stat Comparison
	Kings Point	Maritime
Points	46	50
FG Made-Attempted	16-46 (.348)	16-48 (.333)
3P Made-Attempted	2-16 (.125)	2-19 (.105)
FT Made-Attempted	12-21 (.571)	16-21 (.762)
Rebounds (Off-Def-Tot)	14-27-41	12-24-36
Assists	7	10
Turnovers	17	9
Steals	3	9
Blocks	3	6
Bench Points	7	2
Fouls (Tech)	18 (Mcade-1)	17 (none)
Largest Lead	10	16