THROGGS NECK, NY – In a game of runs that featured double-digit leads by both sides, the Maritime College men's basketball team (5-2, 1-0 Skyline) began Skyline Conference play with a 71-57 victory over two-time defending conference champion Farmingdale (2-5, 0-1 Skyline) at Riesenberg Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.  The Privateers trailed 30-17 with 2:45 left in the first half before outscoring the Rams 54-27 the rest of the way.

Maritime came out of the gate on fire, building an 11-2 advantage and prompting a Farmingdale timeout just 4:18 into the contest.  Following the timeout, the Rams went on a 28-6 run to open up a 13-point cushion, 30-17.  After a Privateers timeout, a floater by Jake Murphy (Rockville Centre, NY) started a 6-0 Maritime spurt that cut the margin to seven, 30-23, before a Jevon Santos free throw made it an eight-point game, 31-23, at halftime.

Tyler Anderson (Smithtown, NY) sank a trey to open the second half, as the Privateers scored the first seven points of the period to get within one, 31-30.  A layup by Hamdel Mohammed gave Farmingdale a three-point edge, then Evan Block (Seaford, NY) and Anderson drained back-to-back triples to put Maritime back in front.  The Privateers extended the margin to six points at 39-33, but the Rams responded with a 12-2 spurt to regain a 45-41 advantage.

After a Block three-pointer tied it at 46-46, the teams traded buckets until Maritime took the lead for good on a Jake Devaney (Washingtonville, NY) hook shot with 5:25 left.  That started a 12-0 rally, as the Privateers built a 62-50 cushion.  A pair of Liam Buckley free throws snapped the run, but Maritime responded with seven more points to extend the margin to a game-high 17 points at 69-52.  The Privateers held the Rams without a field goal for nearly seven minutes during the span.  Sean Conroy scored five points in the final minute for Farmingdale, as Maritime opened conference play with a 71-57 triumph.  With the win, the Privateers ended a five-game losing streak against the Rams.

Devaney finished with 24 points on 11-for-16 shooting.  He also had five rebounds, four assists and three steals.  Block notched his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 14 boards to go along with six assists.  Murphy tallied 14 points and four steals, while Anderson recorded eight points and three assits.  As a team, the Privateers shot 45.8 percent (27-of-59) from the floor, including 54.5 percent (18-of-33) in the second half.  Maritime was 9-for-25 (36 percent) from long range and 8-for-14 (57.1 percent) at the charity stripe.

Conroy led Farmingdale with 13 points, and he added five rebounds.  Michael Notias contributed 13 points and five boards, while Michael Spisto chipped in eight points off the bench.  Buckley had seven points and seven rebounds for the Rams, who shot a combined 37.3 percent (19-of-51) as a team.  Farmingdale went just 6-for-22 (27.3 percent) from downtown and 13-for-19 (68.4 percent) at the free throw line.

The Privateers head to Baltimore next weekend for the Seahawk Holiday Classic.  Maritime takes on Notre Dame Maryland (2-4) at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14 before facing host St. Mary's (MD) (4-3) the following day.