THROGGS NECK, NY – For the second straight year, the Maritime College men's basketball team will be hosting a Skyline Conference Tournament game.  The Privateers (14-9, 9-5 Skyline) locked up second place in the Black Division and the home playoff game that goes with it by topping St. Joseph's Brooklyn (5-16, 4-10 Skyline), 81-75, at Riesenberg Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

Maritime got off to a sizzling start, draining 11 first-half three-pointers.  The Privateers had a 21-12 lead when Tyler Anderson (Smithtown, NY) sank a trey to spark a 20-9 rally that made it a 20-point game, 41-21, with 5:12 left until halftime.  St. Joseph's Brooklyn ended the half on a 19-9 spurt, however, to cut Maritime's advantage to 50-40 at the break.  The Privateers shot 64.7 percent (11-of-17) from long range in the opening 20 minutes.

After the Bears trimmed the margin to seven at 52-45 early in the second half, Maritime went on a 14-2 run to extend its lead back to 19 points, 66-47, with 11:19 remaining.  However, an Evan Sirakis three-pointer on the other end ignited a 17-3 St. Joseph's Brooklyn spurt that got the Bears back within five, 69-64.  A Theo Noble (Bronx, NY) layup made it 71-64, but the Bears responded with consecutive buckets that made it a three-point game, 71-68, with 2:34 left.

Anderson hit four straight free throws to again put Maritime up by three possessions, starting a span where the Privateers' final eight points all came at the foul line.  The Bears again cut the margin to four points, 79-75, on James Mojica's trey with 20 seconds to play before Anderson closed out the 81-75 triumph by draining a pair at the charity stripe.

Jake Murphy (Rockville Centre, NY) led the Privateers with 24 points to go along with five rebounds and five steals.  Noble went 4-for-4 from three-point range in the first half and finished with 18 points.  He also secured nine boards.  Anderson contributed 19 points and six assists, while James O'Connell (East Williston, NY) distributed five assists.  Aleksandar Begovic (Kotor, Montenegro) pulled down 11 rebounds, his sixth game this season with double-digit boards.  As a team, Maritime shot 44.8 percent (26-of-58) from the field, 41.9 percent (13-of-31) from downtown, and 69.6 percent (16-of-23) at the free throw line.

Evan Sirakis finished with 21 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Bears.  Jonathan Reno tallied 20 points, and Chris Tracy notched 12 points off the bench.  Alex Macheras, meanwhile, paced St. Joseph's Brooklyn with six boards.  The Bears shot 41 percent (25-of-61) from the floor, 50 percent (13-of-26) from beyond the arc, and 80 percent (12-of-15) at the charity stripe in the contest.

The Privateers have two games remaining on their regular season schedule.  Maritime visits Farmingdale (21-2, 13-1 Skyline), which had a 17-game winning streak snapped at Manhattanville on Saturday, at 8 p.m. on Tuesday night.  The Rams earned an 84-66 victory over the Privateers when the sides met at Riesenberg Gymnasium on Jan. 13.