OLD WESTBURY, NY – The Maritime College men's basketball team's win streak came to an end on Wednesday night as they dropped a tough road matchup at SUNY Old Westbury, 79-76. Trailing by 14 at halftime, a hard-fought second half from the Privateers eventually tied the game with four minutes left, but they could never take the lead in the Skyline Conference matchup.
The Panthers got off to a hot start as they quickly jumped ahead by seven points. However, Maritime was able to hold their own as a steal from
Mike Regan (Dix Hills, N.Y./St. Anthony's) led to a fast break layup by
Brennan Whelan (Northport, N.Y./Northport), which cut the lead to 15-10. Whelan kept the offensive momentum going a few possessions later as he completed a no-look over the shoulder pass to
Griffin McNally (Huntington Station, N.Y./Walt Whitman) for another bucket.
Nicholas Ovanessian (Bayside, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) then knocked a three-point shot off a kick-out from
Jaylin Gray (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth) to keep the advantage at five points. However, Old Westbury took control down the final stretch of the first half and went into locker room up 38-24.
Gray got Maritime going in the second half as he scored the first 13 points for Maritime and brought the score within five points at 42-37. The Privateers kept the momentum going as Regan knocked down a three from
Brendan McGovern (Seaford, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) and then Whelan converted a reverse layup to force a Panther timeout with 14:38 left and the score at 46-42.
After some hectic play back and forth, Regan drilled a three on the wing to make it a one score game for Maritime with 10 minutes left to go. Old Westbury was able to maintain the slim lead through the six-minute mark despite multiple key turnovers forced by the Privateers defense.
Ovanessian cut the lead to one point with back-to-back free throws, but the Panthers responded and regained the three-point advantage on the following possession. Maritime wasn't going to let Old Westbury pull away for the win though as McGovern knocked down his first three-point shot of the game from the corner to make the score 60-58 with 4:41 left.
McGovern went on to tie the game at 62 as he converted an and-one from behind the arc with just over four minutes left to play. Unfortunately, Old Westbury responded and took a five-point lead at 67-62 with 2:30 remaining in the game.
Maritime wasn't done yet though as Regan hit a corner three off a kick-out from Whelan to make it a two-point game. The Panthers converted multiple three-point plays down the stretch to make the comeback difficult for the Privateers, but consecutive driving layups by Whelan cut the advantage to 73-71 with 31 seconds left on the clock.
Old Westbury was able to make their free throws down the stretch and they escaped with a 79-76 win. Whelan led the Privateers offense with 18 points, while Gray and Regan both finished in double-digits with 17 and 15, respectively. Maritime dropped to 5-6 in the Skyline and 9-11 overall and will head to Purchase College on Saturday afternoon for another conference matchup.
