THROGGS NECK, NY – The Maritime College men's basketball team celebrated seniors Ryan Donovan (North Salem, NY), Sean Flynn (Flushing, NY) and Alex Tartaglia (East Northport, NY) prior to Saturday afternoon's matchup with Purchase at Riesenberg Gymnasium.  The Privateers then proceeded to do what they've done a lot since the calendar flipped to 2023.  Maritime (14-9, 10-4 Skyline) knocked off the Panthers (8-15, 3-11 Skyline) for its fifth straight victory and ninth in its last 11 games.

Maritime's five-game winning streak is its longest since a nine-game stretch from Jan. 21-Feb. 11, 2010.  The Privateers also finished 8-0 at Riesenberg Gymnasium in conference play, marking the first time they've ever gone undefeated at home against Skyline opponents in the regular season.

On Saturday, the Privateers never trailed.  Maritime scored the first six points of the game and eventually extended that lead to 19-8 with 11:45 left in the first half.  Purchase responded with a 13-4 spurt to get within two, 23-21, but Theo Noble (Bronx, NY) sank a three on the other end to bring the margin back to five, 26-21.  Flynn then hit a layup to make it a seven-point game, 28-21, at intermission.

After Purchase rallied to tie it at 35-35 with 13:25 remaining, a three-pointer by James O'Connell (East Williston, NY) put Maritime back in front for good.  The Panthers again pulled within one, 40-39, before the Privateers went on a 12-6 run to again open up a seven-point advantage, 52-45.  Maritime would go on to win by four, 55-51, giving it double-digit conference victories for the first time since 2009-10.

Donovan (North Salem, NY) moved within nine points of 1,000 for his career after posting a team-high 15 on Saturday.  He also had five rebounds and four assists.  Noble finished with 10 points and eight assists, while Robbie Mitchell (Staten Island, NY) contributed 10 points of his own.  Aleksandar Begovic (Kotor, Montenegro) pulled down 10 boards and Evan Block (Seaford, NY) added seven rebounds, as Maritime held a 45-33 edge on the glass.  Flynn , meanwhile, recorded three blocks.  As a team, the Privateers shot 39.3 percent (20-of-55) from the field, 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from long range, and 80 percent (8-of-10) at the free throw line.

For the Panthers, Isaac Johnson led the way with a game-high 16 points.  Terrence Mason tallied 10 points and eight rebounds, and Trey Skeete had nine points to go along with six boards and three assists.  Jalen Bartley collected a team-best nine rebounds for Purchase, which shot 30.6 percent (19-of-62) overall.  The Panthers were 10-for-12 (83.3 percent) at the charity stripe, but just 3-for-20 (15 percent) from three-point land.

With the win, the Privateers remain tied for first place in the Skyline North Division.  Maritime has two games left on its regular season schedule—both on the road—starting with a 7 p.m. matchup at Mount St. Mary (8-15, 5-9 Skyline) on Tuesday.  When the sides met at Riesenberg Gymnasium on Jan. 7, the Privateers earned a 72-69 victory.