THROGGS NECK, NY – The Maritime College men's basketball team played its first home Skyline Conference game of the 2023-24 season on Saturday afternoon.  After the Valiants (6-3, 1-1 Skyline) trimmed a nine-point deficit to one with eight seconds left, the Privateers (7-1, 2-0 Skyline) made a pair of free throws down the stretch to seal a 67-64 victory at Riesenberg Gymnasium.  It was Maritime's 10^th consecutive home win against a conference opponent.

Tyler Anderson (Smithtown, NY) sank two foul shots at the 1:50 mark to put Maritime up 61-52 before Manhattanville scored 12 of the next 15 points to pull within 64-63.  Jake Murphy (Rockville Centre, NY) made it 66-63, then Tommy Lotito went 1-for-2 at the line for the Valiants.  Rob Guilday (Wallingford, PA) pulled down the rebound for Maritime and handed off to Anderson, who was fouled with four seconds remaining.  He made the first, but missed the second and Manhattanville grabbed the rebound.  Lotito's three-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark, however, and the Privateers held on for the 67-64 win.

After notching his first career double-double on Wednesday night, Theo Noble (Bronx, NY) finished with 25 points and eight rebounds in the victory.  He also distributed three assists.  Anderson contributed 13 points, six boards and three assists, while Aleksandar Begovic (Kotor, Montenegro) collected a game-high 11 rebounds.  The Privateers held a 49-31 edge on the glass and shot a combined 35.1 percent (20-of-57) from the floor.  Maritime was 10-for-29 (34.5 percent) from downtown and 17-for-20 (85 percent) at the charity stripe.

Three straight treys gave the Privateers an early 9-2 advantage before Manhattanville used a 12-0 run to go in front, 14-9.  An Anderson three-pointer and a Begovic layup tied the score at 14-14, and Maritime opened up a 20-16 cushion on a Noble layup with 4:10 left until halftime.  With the Valiants leading 25-24 just before the break, Noble was fouled on a three-point attempt.  He drained all three free throws, putting the Privateers ahead by two, 27-25, at halftime.

It was a one-point game, 32-31, early in the second half when Noble sank a pair of threes to extend the margin to seven, 38-31.  Manhattanville scored the next four points to get back within 38-35 before another Noble three-pointer ignited a 10-2 rally that gave Maritime its biggest lead of the game, a 48-37 advantage with 11:24 left.  After the Valiants again got within two at 52-50, a Jovan Germain (Brooklyn, NY) trey sparked a 9-2 run that put the Privateers ahead 61-52 with 1:50 to go.

For Manhattanville, Lotito led the way with 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.  Tony Hastings added 16 points, six boards and five assists, while Ryan Giordano posted 15 points to go along with three blocks.  The Valiants shot 35 percent (21-of-60) from the field, 26.7 percent (8-of-30) from three-point land, and 87.5 percent (14-of-16) at the free throw line.

Maritime will now have a week off before returning to action.  The Privateers resume their non-conference schedule by hosting William Paterson (2-6) next Saturday at 1 p.m.  It will mark the first time this season that Maritime plays back-to-back games at Riesenberg Gymnasium.