THROGGS NECK, NY - The Maritime College men's basketball team picked up their first win of the Skyline Conference season as they defeated Manhattanville College in dramatic fashion behind a game-winning and-one layup by
Brennan Whelan (Northport, N.Y./Northport) with five seconds left to play. Whelan's layup broke the 77-77 tie and gave the Privateers the 80-77 win over the Valiants.
Maritime opened up the game on fire from behind the arc as
Brendan McGovern (Seaford, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) and
Sean Flynn (Flushing, NY/Holy Cross) both scored from range to give them an early advantage. The Valiants bounced back and took the lead from the Privateers, but later in the half a bucket from
Jaylin Gray (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth) and McGovern tied the game up at 25 with eight minutes left. A few plays later,
Mike Regan (Dix Hills, N.Y./St. Anthony's) drained a three to give Maritime the 30-27 lead. However, it was all Manhattanville for the rest of the half as they went on a 19-6 run to close out the first period.
Trailing by 10 points to start the second half, the Privateers were looking for a big momentum shift early on. After being down 53-40, Maritime went on to make a 12-0 run to cut into the Valiants lead. A couple plays later, Regan found McGovern for a three-pointer to give Maritime their first lead since the first half. The two teams began to trade baskets down the stretch with Manhattanville holding a slight edge until Gray came up with a game-changing play. After committing a poor turnover, the junior guard hustled back on defense and came up with a massive block on the fastbreak layup from the Valiants. The block turned into a McGovern three after Regan found the senior spotted up in transition.
The momentum shifting play by Gray and McGovern, led to a six-point lead by the Privateers with under three minutes left to play. The Valiants weren't done yet though and ended up tying the game at 77 with 29 seconds left to play. Maritime came back on offense and put the ball in Whelan's hand at the top of the key. With under 10 seconds to go, McGovern set a high pick and pop for the junior guard, who turned the corner and went straight to the hoop. Whelan absorded contact from two defenders and ended up making the layup and drew the foul. Whelan made the free throw and with five seconds left the Privateers defense forced a desperate three to tie the game, which came up short.
McGovern led the way with 21 points, while Whelan finished with 20 on 7-9 shooting and 6-7 from the free throw line. Gray also finished with double digits at 16, including finishing an impressive 10-10 from the charity stripe. Maritime finished 26-30 from the free throw line for 86.7 percent, while the Valiants managed just 50 percent.
To see the full post-game press conference, click below. Maritime will travel to USMMA on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip-off.
