KINGS POINT, N.Y. – The Maritime College basketball team tied the record for most three-point field goals made in a single game with 13, but it was not enough as the Privateers dropped the battle under the Throggs Neck Bridge to Skyline rival Merchant Marine, 84-81. It was the third time in program history that the Privateers netted 13 three-balls.
 
Patrick MacDonald (Buffalo, N.Y./Canisius) led all scorers with 22 points, 17 of which occurred in the second half. The junior also supplemented 12 boards, good for his 14th double double of the season and 10^th game of the season with 20 or more points. Tim Hoch (Coventry, R.I./Fishers Island (N.Y.)) scored 17 points, while Brendon Halligan (Durham, N.Y./Cairo-Durham) added 15 points on five three-point buckets, a season high.  Tim McQuail (Middle Village, N.Y./Cathedral Prep) rounded out the top four scorers with 12 points on a 5-of-8 field goal shooting effort.
 
The three-point shooting game came very familiar to the Privateers, as the team drained twelve buckets from downtown when Maritime and Merchant Marine last met on December 2^nd. It once again appeared to be a three-point shooting contest between the Privateers and the Merchant Marine Mariners in the first half, as the Privateers drained nine treys out of 14 chances in the opening stanza for a 64-percent three-point shooting effort. While the Merchant Marines took more shots behind the arc in the first half with sixteen, the Mariners knocked down seven of them for a 44-percent total.
 
Scoring was back and forth much of the earlier portion of the first half, as no team led by more than five points up until the 11:28 mark. Following a Connor Green jumper at the 9:48 mark, the Privateers put together a 7-0 run ignited by back-to-back Akil Spruill (Queens, N.Y./Holy Cross) two-point shots to pull away from the Mariners. However, Maritime saw a little bit of a cold streak in the latter half of the first frame as they were not able to find the bottom net from a field goal attempt for nearly seven minutes. Merchant Marine capitalized off Maritime mistakes and cut into the Privateer lead ending the half on a 6-0 run, but the Privateers just barely held onto the advantage at the midway point, leading the Mariners 45-44 at halftime. Halligan finished perfect from behind the arc in the first frame, seeing all three of his three-point attempts made fall through the net.  
 
With two successful Merchant Marine free throws right off the bat in the first half, the Mariners saw their first lead since the 16:08 mark in the first half. Patrick MacDonald (Buffalo, N.Y./Canisius) answered and found his fire shortly after, scoring his first field goal of the game a minute and a half into the second frame. Merchant Marine once again answered, scoring five straight points. Maritime quickly found another short burst, using a 9-0 run to take a 56-49 lead. After another MacDonald layup, Merchant Marine again went on a run, 10-0 this time. During the stretch, a Matt Miller layup gave the edge back to the Mariners. Maritime's next nine points all came off of free throws, but still trailed 76-73 with 3:52 remaining.
 
With 29 seconds left in the battle, Malik Clark (Central Islip, N.Y./Central Islip)'s trey from the right elbow tied the Maritime record for three-point shots in a game, but Clark followed up the record-tying shot with a costly foul on the floor. In the double bonus, Matt Miller was able to put down both free throws, extending the Mariner lead to 84-81 with 23 seconds remaining. Needing another Privateer three-pointer to send the game to overtime, Maritime had possession with nine seconds on the clock. Halligan's attempt to knot the game up was just off the mark, but a team offensive rebound gave the Privateers another opportunity. The Privateers fate for overtime belonged to Tim Hoch (Coventry, R.I./Fishers Island (N.Y.)), but his three-ball hit the back of the rim. MacDonald came up with another offensive rebound but was unable to dish the ball out in time for another three-point attempt as the clock hit zero.  
 
Merchant Marine's standout freshman Eric Sobocinski had a career day for the Mariners, hitting 10 of 13 shots from the field for 29 points, nine of them coming from behind the arc. Merchant Marine saw three scorers with 20 or more points on the contest, as Connor Green added 23 and Matt Miller contributed 20.
 
With the tough loss, Maritime drops to 8-12 overall and 3-8 in the Skyline Conference. Merchant Marine snapped a four-game losing streak as they are now 6-14 overall and 3-9 in league play.

Next up, Maritime returns to Riesenberg Gymnasium on Wednesday, February 8^th and will face another tough Skyline test against Purchase College. The game is set to tip at 7:00 P.M.
 
Merchant Marine next will see non-conference opponent Rutgers-Camden on the road on Monday, Feb. 6.