THROGGS NECK, NY – The Maritime College men's basketball team played its first home game of 2025 against rival Merchant Marine on Wednesday night.  The Privateers (7-5, 3-0 Skyline) held a three-point lead with five minutes left before pulling away down the stretch for a 69-57 victory over the Mariners (5-7, 1-2 Skyline) at Riesenberg Gymnasium.

With Maritime in front 51-48, Jake Devaney (Washingtonville, NY) sank a trey, then got a steal, drove down and slammed home a dunk to make it a 56-48 game.  Merchant Marine eventually trimmed its deficit to five at 59-54, but a Jake Murphy (Rockville Centre, NY) three-pointer with 1:19 left started an 8-0 Privateers run that extended the margin to a game-high 13 points, 67-54.  Maritime won by a 69-57 count to improve to 3-0 in conference play for the second consecutive season.

Murphy had a game-high 21 points to pace the Privateers.  He added six rebounds and three steals.  Devaney finished with 13 points and seven boards to go along with three assists and two blocks.  Evan Block (Seaford, NY), meanwhile, tallied 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists and five steals.  Tyler Anderson (Smithtown, NY) distributed four assists for Maritime, which shot a combined 41.1 percent (23-of-56) from the field.  The Privateers were 9-for-24 (37.5 percent) from three-point range and 14-for-26 (53.8 percent) at the free throw line.

After the teams traded early leads, Maritime used a 14-0 run to turn an 11-8 deficit into a 22-11 advantage with 5:11 remaining in the first half.  Merchant Marine got back within seven at 27-20 before a Jovan Germain (Brooklyn, NY) jumper and a pair of Theo Noble (Bronx, NY) free throws extended the Privateers' cushion back to 11 points, 31-20.  The Mariners scored the final five points of the half, though, to trim the margin to six, 31-25, at intermission.

Merchant Marine opened the second half with five straight points to make it a one-point game, 31-30, but Noble responded with a trey on the other end.  Maritime regained a five-point edge at 37-32 before the Mariners again pulled within one.  However, the Privateers countered each Merchant Marine rally, forcing a season-high 24 turnovers and collecting 16 steals.

For the Mariners, Drew Zalescik led the way with 19 points.  He also recorded nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks.  Isaac Vencel posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards, while Clark Castleberry contributed nine points.  As a team, Merchant Marine shot 37.5 percent (21-of-56) from the floor, 25 percent (5-of-20) from downtown, and 43.5 percent (10-of-23) at the charity stripe.

This was Maritime's only home contest in a five-game stretch.  The Privateers play the first of three straight road games on Saturday, when they visit St. Joseph's Brooklyn (4-8, 1-2 Skyline) at 1 p.m.