THROGGS NECK, NY - The Maritime College men's basketball team ended a four-game skid with a big 94-80 win over non-conference foe SUNY New Paltz. Brendan McGovern (Seaford, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) entered the game with 977 points, and dropped an impressive 31-point performance to record over 1,000 career points, just five games into his senior campaign.

The Privateers started off the game hot as McGovern opened up the scoring with a three and then Jaylin Gray (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth) made back-to-back plays in the paint to put the team up 7-5. A few plays later, Sean Flynn (Flushing, NY/Holy Cross) knocked down a jumper from the top of the arc in his first start of the season. Maritime continued to shoot lights out in the first half as they picked up more three-pointers from McGovern, as well as Ryan Donovan (North Salem, N.Y./North Salem) and Griffin McNally (Huntington Station, N.Y./Walt Whitman). After a driving layup from Brennan Whelan (Northport, N.Y./Northport) with just under nine minutes to play, the Privateers held onto a commanding 14-point lead.

Unfortunately, the Hawks came roaring back and eventually tied, and took back the lead with three minutes left in the opening half. Luckily, a clutch three from Alec Downes (Seaford, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) and an offensive rebound put-back from Chris Ruscillo (Carle Place, N.Y./Carle Place) gave Maritime the slight advantage at halftime, 43-41.

Halftime didn't slow down the Privateers offense as McGovern came right out and drained two, three-point shots to help give them a double-digit advantage early on. Maritime and SUNY New Paltz went back-and-forth for the next few minutes with neither team making a big run, but 14 minutes left to play, McGovern stepped up and delivered a four-point play to shift the momentum in the Privateers favor. 

Needing to jump start a comeback, the Hawks pushed the tempo of the game, but strong defense from Maritime and smart offense helped them extend their lead to as much as 17 points. SUNY New Paltz went on to cut the lead to as little as 10 with eight minutes left, but another McGovern three ended the hopes of a comeback from the Hawks and Maritime went on to win 94-80.

"It really all started with a great week of practice, which is what I told the guys," said head coach Mike Berkun. "We had a lot of contributions with five players in double-digits and it's tough to stop a team with a lot of people that can score. It's also a great accomplishment for Brendan to score 1,000 points, and it's great that he'll always be able to look back at this and know that he did and I'm really proud of him for working hard and reaching this point."

McGovern dropped a season high 31 points to lead all scores in the game, while Whelan and Husene Camara (Bronx, N.Y./Frederick Douglas) added 11 points, with Flynn and Gray each chipping in 10 to round out the double-digit scorers. Flynn and Camara also led the rebounding effort for the Privateers with seven and six, respectively. The Privateers shot an impressive 56.25 percent from the floor and 41.9 percent from behind the arc in their highest scoring game of the season so far.

Maritime will travel to Hunter College next on November 26 at 6 p.m. Watch the full post-game press conference below!