The Maritime College basketball team battled its way back into the win column after a stellar opening frame on the defensive side in a Thursday night matchup at USMMA. The Privateers held the Mariners to just 13 points on 14 percent shooting from the field in the first half and was able to hang on for a 57-52 conference win.
Brendan McGovern (Seaford, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) led Maritime offensively in the first half as he drained three, three-point shots and dropped 15 of the Privateers 27 points. However, the story of the first half was Maritime's ability to stymie the Mariner's offense. USMMA shot 4-27 from the field and 0-11 from behind the arc. However, heading into halftime neither team could find the bottom of the net for the final two and a half minutes and the Privateers held onto a 27-13 lead going into the locker rooms.
Baskets from McGovern,
Chris Ruscillo (Carle Place, N.Y./Carle Place), and
Brennan Whelan (Northport, N.Y./Northport) opened up the second half for Maritime, but the Mariners started to find a rhythm and slowly began to climb back into the game. With eight and a half minutes remaining, a three-point shot from Seth Barnes broke a scoring drought and cut the Privateers lead to six points. A few possessions later, USMMA cut the lead to four points and had Maritime struggling to put points on the board. The young Privateers roster responded as
Ronan Doherty (Danbury, Conn./Immaculate) drained a crucial three-pointer off an assist from McGovern and then two possessions later, McGovern knocked down another shot from deep to bring the advantage back up to double digits.
USMMA continued to try and mount a comeback, but Maritime did a good job of forcing tough shots and was able to hold onto the 57-52 win. The Skyline Conference win ended a seven-game losing streak for the Privateers and stopped a two-game winning streak for the Mariners.
McGovern led Maritime with 25 points on 5-11 shooting from behind the arc. Whelan and
Alec Downes (Seaford, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) chipped in nine and eight points, respectively, while Doherty totaled a team-high 13 rebounds and six assists.
The Privateers hope to make it two straight conference wins this Saturday as they travel to SUNY Old Westbury at 12 p.m.
