The Maritime College men's basketball couldn't overcome a slow start to the second half against Mount Saint Vincent on Thursday night and fell to the Dolphins 79-70. In the loss, junior guard Brendan McGovern (Seaford, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) scored a career high 32 points on 11-23 shooting from the field.

McGovern started out hot from behind the arc right off the bat, draining four three-point shots in the first five minutes to give the Privateers a 15-11 lead. After seven minutes of play, the Seaford, NY native had scored 14 of the first 17 points for Maritime as they held on to a one-point lead. 

With two and a half minutes remaining in the opening half, Ryan Donovan (North Salem, N.Y./North Salem) drained a three-point shot while getting fouled to give the Privateers an energy boost and a five-point lead. However, it was Mount Saint Vincent who stole the momentum before halftime as they scored the final seven points to take a 34-32 lead into the locker rooms.

That momentum continued into the second half for the Dolphins as they took a quick 10-point lead by converting the first eight points. Mount Saint Vincent continued to pressure Maritime on offense and built their lead all the way up to 19 points with eight minutes remaining in the game.

Despite all signs pointing towards a disappointing loss, the Privateers started to roar back behind some hustle on the offensive boards and turning up the pressure on defense. After a steal and fast break layup from Brennan Whelan (Northport, N.Y./Northport) cut the lead to 10 points with 1:42 remaining, Michael Walker (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) came up with back-to-back layups off of offensive rebounds to make it a six-point game with 48 seconds left. Unfortunately, the comeback attempt ended there as the Dolphins knocked down their free throws in the final minute of play.

McGovern tied the single-game program record with eight three-pointers made in the game and chipped in three assists and three rebounds as well. Walker tallied 12 points off the bench for Maritime while contributing a team-high seven rebounds. Whelan recorded a game-high seven assists at the point guard position.

"The difference tonight was how Mount Saint Vincent ended the first half and started the second half," said head coach Mike Berkun. "We needed to weather the storm better, but I'm proud of how this young team never gave up and made it a close game in the final minutes. Brendan shot spectacularly tonight and I was very pleased with how the entire team got him the ball in good spots to score."

The Privateers head to Sarah Lawrence on Saturday at 3:00 for another Skyline Conference matchup before returning home to host St. Joseph's Brooklyn on Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 7:00 p.m.