NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Maritime Basketball team fell on the road to the Yeshiva Maccabees by the score of 81-70 from the Max Stern Athletic Center on Thursday evening.
 
Maritime was led by sophomore John Liccese (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) with a team-best 19 points, while classmate Patrick MacDonald (Buffalo, N.Y./Canisius) was second on the team with 15. MacDonald also picked up his fifth consecutive double-double with 13 rebounds on the game.
 
Junior Tim Hoch (Coventry, R.I./Fishers Island (N.Y.)) had 13 points, while rookie Michael Walker (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) tied his career-best with 13 points on the evening. Junior Brendon Halligan (Durham, N.Y./Cairo-Durham) netted six points, while sophomore Akil Spruill (Queens, N.Y./Holy Cross) chipped in with four more off the bench.
 
Liccese led the team with five assists on the night, and also had a team-best four steals. MacDonald led with two blocks, while Liccese, Hoch and Walker each recorded one block apiece.
 
Yeshiva jumped ahead by a 5-0 score in the early going, before MacDonald and Liccese connected on layups to trim the lead to one. Hoch tied the game at seven with a three-point basket with 16:51 left in the opening half.
 
Maritime was able to take the lead on its next two possessions, but Yeshiva had responses for both and tied the matchup at 14. The Privateers eventually tied the game at 19 with a Hoch layup, which sparked a brief Maritime run.
 
Liccese drained a jumper, followed by a Walker jump shot as the Privateers took a four-point edge with 9:11 left in the half. Yeshiva eventually tied the game once again and retook a five-point lead with 2:21 to go.
 
Walker stepped back for a three-ball, followed by a free throw from MacDonald to trim the deficit back down to one. After a few possessions, MacDonald then went 2-for-2 from the line with 10 seconds left as the Privateers went into the locker room down by a 35-33 score.
 
In the second half, Hoch got things off on the right foot with a long-range shot to give Maritime a one-point advantage on the opening possession of the half. Yeshiva regained the lead with a tip-in and was able to spur on a run that led to a 10-point Maccabee lead.
 
Maritime trailed by as many as 12 with 5:39 left in regulation, but the Privateers rallied late once again looking for some late-game magic.
 
Spruill got things going with a layup, followed by a steal and fast break layup. The Maccabees were called for a technical foul after having too many players on the court, which Liccese sank the free throw to trim the lead to seven.
 
After a Yeshiva missed basket, MacDonald pulled down the board leading to a Walker layup. Then on the next possession for Yeshiva, an offensive foul gave the ball back to the Privateers, leading to a Liccese jumper to give Maritime a one-possession deficit at 69-66 with 4:04 to go in the game.
 
Yeshiva scored the next five points and took its eight-point lead back, which eventually ballooned to the final deficit of 11 points as the Maccabees escaped with the 81-70 win.
 
Maritime (4-14, 4-9 Skyline) will look to get back on track this Saturday as the Privateers host the Farmingdale Rams for a 1 p.m. tip from the Riesenberg Hall Gymnasium. Earlier this season, the Privateers scored a season-best 86 points against the Rams in mid-January.
 
Yeshiva (8-7, 6-4 Skyline) will look forward to its second straight home game on Saturday, when the Maccabees host the Mount St. Mary Knight for an 8:30 p.m. tip from the Max Stern Athletic Center.