THROGGS NECK, NY – On Wednesday afternoon, the Maritime College men's basketball team returned to action for the first time in three weeks.  In a contest that saw seven ties and seven lead changes, Ryan Donovan's (Carmel, NY) layup and free throw with six seconds left proved to be the difference in the Privateers' (3-5) 69-65 victory over SUNY Canton (3-6) at Riesenberg Gymnasium.

Maritime trailed 65-63 when Griffin McNally (Huntington Station, NY) grabbed a rebound with 15 seconds remaining.  The Privateers took timeout and held for one shot, with Donovan drawing the foul on his drive to the basket.  After he hit the foul shot to put Maritime in front, the Roos committed a turnover on the other end.  Mike Regan (Huntington Station, NY) was fouled immediately and drained both free throws to make it a three-point game.  Jaylin Gray (Brooklyn, NY) then stole the ensuing SUNY Canton inbounds pass and went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe to ice the win.

Donovan paced the Privateers with 20 points, and he also grabbed eight rebounds.  Regan finished with 13 points, while Gray had 11 points and six boards to go along with five assists and five steals.  McNally tied for the team lead with eight rebounds in the contest.  The Privateers won despite shooting just 29.2 percent (19-of-65) from the field and 23.1 percent (6-of-26) from long range.  Maritime went 25-for-35 (71.4 percent) at the free throw line, including seven consecutive made attempts down the stretch.

The Privateers led by as many as nine points in the first half before the Roos rallied to tie the score at 31-31 on a Danny Santana trey with 26 seconds left until halftime.  On the final possession of the half, Alec Downes (Seaford, NY) sank a three from in front of the SUNY Canton bench as time expired.  The officials confirmed the shot was before the buzzer and that Maritime held a 34-31 halftime advantage.

It was a 47-47 game when SUNY Canton went on an 11-4 run to open up a seven-point, 58-51, edge with 7:09 remaining.  Regan responded with a pair of free throws, then Downs hit a trey to get Maritime back within two, 58-56.  After a Santana jumper extended the Roos' cushion to four, Donovan drained a three-pointer at the 4:14 mark.

SUNY Canton increased the margin to three at 64-61 with 1:15 left, but Gray sank two free throws on the other end to again make it a one-point game, 64-63.  Quran DuBois was fouled with 17 seconds to go and made the first, but missed the second and McNally grabbed the rebound, setting up Donovan's game-winning points.

For the Roos, Santana led the way with 29 points and nine rebounds.  He added three assists.  DuBois contributed 15 points, eight boards and three assists, while Andrew Fitch posted nine points, seven rebounds and seven blocks.  SUNY Canton shot 41.1 percent (23-of-56) from the floor and outrebounded Maritime 48-37.  The Roos were 6-for-23 (26.1 percent) from downtown and 13-for-15 (86.7 percent) at the foul line.

This game, a replacement for the cancelled Lehman Coaches vs. Cancer tournament, was originally supposed to be the Privateers' final contest of 2021.  However, Maritime has added another game to the schedule and will now wrap up the calendar year at Ramapo (2-8) on Thursday at 3 p.m.