Box Score THROGS NECK, NY - The Privateer men's basketball team lost their final non-conference game of the season to St. Joseph's College of Brooklyn by a final score of 77-76. The Privateers record stand at 12-9 overall, still one win shy of securing a regular season record above .500.
Maritime held an 8 point advantage midway through the first half, but failed to hold the lead and went into halftime down three. St. Joseph's went up by 2 at the 2:30 mark and pushed it to 6 with only seconds to go, but Andre Cooper (Baltimore, Md./Southwestern) (Baltimore, MD) hit a last second three pointer from mid-court to cut the lead in half before going into the lock room. The halftime score was 40-37.
The Privateers struggled in second half, falling back by as many as 11 points on two separate occasions. Down 11 with 7:02 to play, the Privateers mounted a 9-0 run to pull within 2 points, and at the 2:26 mark they took the lead by 1. A jumper by Andre Cooper (Baltimore, Md./Southwestern) with 42 seconds to play put Maritime up by 3 points, but a defensive foul by the Privateers sent St. Joes to the line for two shots. After hitting the first one, St. Joe's missed the second but collected the offensive rebound, the game's key play. Down two with the ball, St. Joseph's Lew Monaco hit a 3-pt. shot from the corner to give his team the lead with :37 to play. Despite the dramatic shot, the Privateers brought the ball down and ran their offense well, drawing a foul and sending Kevin Josey (Staten Island, N.Y./Monroe Webster) (Staten Island, NY/Monroe Webster) to the line. He connected on both to give the Privateers the one point lead with only 17 seconds to play.
St. Joe's ran the ball down the court and gave the ball to Donald Coleman who drove to the lane and drew a foul. Coleman hit the floor hard on the foul, and was slow to get up, forcing the officials to call the trainer on the court. According to the rule, Coleman had to come out of the game and Przemyslaw Kudla was sent to the line as a replacement. With his team down one, and having logged only 10 minutes all game, Kudla calmly sank both free throws to give his team the lead. The Privateers couldn't connect on their ensuing possession and the game ended in favor of St. Joseph's.
Tim Dougherty (Fresh Meadows, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) (Fresh Meadows, NY/St. Francis Prep) led all scorers with 16 points, while also pulling down 13 rebounds. Giovanni Hurley (Brooklyn, N.Y./Middle College High) (Brooklyn, NY/Middle College) also had a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Three players from St. Joseph's had 14 points, Jon Matzelle, Justin Gist, and Ervin Maddox.
The Privateers will be at home on Thursday to play host to NYU Polytechnic beginning at 8:00PM.
