THROGGS NECK, NY – The Maritime College men's basketball team played its final non-conference home game of the season on Sunday afternoon.  After trailing by as many as 17 points, the Privateers rallied to pull within one with 7:26 remaining.  Baruch (4-3) responded with an 8-0 run, though, and topped Maritime (2-4) by an 80-71 count at Riesenberg Gymnasium.

Down 46-29 at the break, the Privateers came storming out of the gate in the second half.  Maritime opened the period on a 10-3 spurt to cut its deficit to 10 points, 49-39.  Baruch responded with five straight points to bring the lead back to 54-39, but the Privateers again countered.  A Theo Noble (Bronx, NY) trey at the 13:42 mark started a 14-2 Maritime run, and Ryan Donovan's (North Salem, NY) layup with 7:26 remaining made it a one-point game, 56-55.

However, Baruch scored the next eight points to bring the margin back to nine, 64-55, with 5:01 left.  Back-to-back buckets from Donovan and Tyler Anderson (Smithtown, NY) one again brought Maritime within five, 64-59, but the Privateers would get no closer.  Baruch went 13-for-14 at the foul line in the second half, including 12 consecutive successful attempts down the stretch, to close out an 80-71 victory.

Donovan had his second 30-point game of the season, finishing with a game-high 31 points to go along with five rebounds and four steals.  Robbie Mitchell (Richmond, NY) tallied a career-best 17 points while also recording three steals.  Anderson contributed seven points and three assists, and Aleksandar Begovic (Kotor, Montenegro) pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds.  As a team, the Privateers shot 39.7 percent (27-of-68) from the floor, 31.6 percent (6-of-19) from long range, and 73.3 percent (11-of-15) at the free throw line.

Mitchell scored Maritime's first seven points, as the Privateers built an early 7-4 advantage.  However, after a Donovan layup at the 14:18 mark of the first half, Baruch went on a 17-0 run to open up a 27-11 lead.  The Bearcats shot 61.percent (16-of-26) from the floor and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from three-point range in the first half en route to a 17-point halftime cushion, 46-29.

For the game, Baruch shot 53.1 percent (26-of-49) from the field, including 50 percent (8-of-16) from downtown.  The Bearcats were 20-for-21 (95.2 percent) at the charity stripe.  Devin Nicholson paced Baruch with 22 points off the bench, while Mohamed Gueye registered 16 points and seven rebounds.  Emil Purisic chipped in 10 points, and Jehmehl Fair notched seven points to go along with six boards and five assists.

Maritime has one game remaining before the start of Skyline Conference play.  The Privateers visit John Jay (0-6) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.