THROGGS NECK, NY – Jake Murphy (Rockville Centre, NY) recorded the first double-double of his Maritime College men's basketball career on Saturday afternoon. He notched career-highs with 28 points, while also contributing four steals to lead the Privateers (12-7, 7-3 Skyline) past Mount St. Vincent (7-12, 5-5 Skyline), 93-85, at Riesenberg Gymnasium. Murphy has now scored 20 more points in three straight games and four of his last five outings.
He drained two three-pointers in the first four minutes of the game, as Maritime jumped out to an early 9-2 cushion. After Mount St. Vincent rallied to take the lead, 18-17, the Privateers rattled off 10 of the next 15 points to go back in front, 27-23. The Dolphins ended the half on a 15-7 run, however, and held a 38-34 advantage at the break.
The teams traded buckets to begin the second half before a three-pointer by
Evan Block (Seaford, NY) started a 13-4 spurt that gave Maritime a five-point edge, 49-44. Mount St. Vincent scored five straight points to tie the game, but
Jovan Germain (Brooklyn, NY) immediately countered with a trey to put the Privateers ahead for good. The Privateers' lead would eventually reach 17 points when
Tyler Anderson (Smithtown, NY) hit a pair of free throws to make it 76-59 with 4:16 left.
Mount St. Vincent made a late push, getting within seven points, 91-84, at the 17-second mark. However, Murphy iced the 93-85 victory with a pair of free throws, as Maritime notched back-to-back wins for the first time since early December.
Murphy led four Privateers in double-figures. Germain sank four treys and finished with 15 points, while Block
drilled four three-pointers of his own. He contributed five rebounds and three assists to go along with his 13 points.
Amadou Kouyate (Harlem, NY) added 12 points, six boards and five assists. Anderson
handed out eight assists, and
Aleksandar Begovic (Kotor, Montenegro) collected 10 rebounds. It marked the fifth time this season he secured double-digit caroms.
As a team, Maritime set a season-high with 26 assists, and the 93 points matched the Privateers' largest scoring output of the season. The Privateers shot 48.4 percent (31-of-64) from the field and outrebounded the Dolphins 40-35. Maritime was 12-for-27 (44.4 percent) from long range and 19-for-26 (73.1 percent) at the charity stripe.
Joshua Cabezudo paced Mount St. Vincent with 25 points. He also tallied seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. DJ Tucker notched eight boards and six assists to go along with 11 points, while Kevin Agyemang posted 16 points and five assists off the bench. Adrian Rraci added 12 points for the Dolphins, who shot a combined 48.5 percent (32-of-66) from the floor. Mount St. Vincent finished 7-for-17 (41.2 percent) from downtown and 14-for-21 (66.7 percent) at the free throw line.
Maritime hits the road on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. matchup at Purchase (9-10, 3-7 Skyline). The Privateers alternate home and away contests each game over the final three weeks of the regular season.
