NEW YORK – After having a break of nearly two weeks, the Maritime College men's basketball team returned to action for the second time in less than 24 hours on Saturday afternoon.  Taking on SUNY Canton (5-9) in the consolation game of the NYU Holiday Tournament, the Privateers (7-4) dropped a 73-62 decision at New York University's Paulson Center.

SUNY Canton jumped out to a 10-6 lead before Maritime got a layup from Evan Block (Seaford, NY) and a Tyler Anderson (Smithtown, NY) three-pointer to pull ahead, 11-10.  It was a 17-17 game when the Kangaroos went on a 7-2 run to open up a 24-19 cushion, but the Privateers rallied back within one, 24-23, with 5:17 left in the first half.  SUNY Canton ended the period on a 14-3 spurt, though, to take a 38-26 advantage into the locker room.

The Privateers trimmed their deficit to eight points, 51-43, with 14:24 remaining.  However, SUNY Canton responded with an 8-0 run to take its biggest lead of the game, a 59-43 advantage with 11:23 to go.  Maritime scored 11 of the next 13 points to get within seven, 61-54, before the Kangaroos pushed the margin back to 11 points at 67-56.  That would prove to be the final margin, as SUNY Canton sent Maritime to its third straight defeat, 73-62.

Jake Murphy (Rockville Centre, NY) led the way for the Privateers, finishing with 18 points, six rebounds and seven assists.  Anderson recorded 15 points and four steals, and Block tallied eight points.  Aleksandar Begovic (Kotor, Montenegro), meanwhile, had six points, seven boards, five steals and two blocks.  As a team, Maritime shot 42.1 percent (24-of-57) from the field, 22.7 percent (5-of-22) from three-point land, and 75 percent (9-of-12) at the charity stripe.

For the Kangaroos, Eli Larson posted 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists.  Terrence Fields contributed 13 points, four assists and three steals off the bench, while Byron Streb notched 10 points and four assists.  Jevonte Williams added nine points to go along with five assists, as 23 of SUNY Canton's 28 baskets were assisted.  The Kangaroos also outrebounded the Privateers 37-26 and shot a combined 51.9 percent (28-of-54) from the floor.  SUNY Canton was 7-for-16 (43.8 percent) from long range and 10-for-13 (76.9 percent) at the free throw line.

In addition to being Maritime's last game of 2023, it was the Privateers' final non-conference game of the season.  Maritime (2-0 Skyline) resumes its Skyline Conference slate with a 7 p.m. visit to Mount St. Mary (2-9, 0-3 Skyline) on Wednesday.