KINGS POINT, NY – The Maritime College men's basketball team had a one-point lead late in Saturday's matchup with Merchant Marine.  However, a tip-in by Isaac Vencel with 0.8 seconds left put the Mariners in front and Jake Devaney's (Washingtonville, NY) desperation attempt at the buzzer was short, giving Merchant Marine (9-14, 5-9 Skyline) a 51-50 victory over the Privateers (13-10, 9-5 Skyline) at Liebertz Gymnasium.

Maritime led 44-32 with 5:34 remaining before Merchant Marine used a 14-2 run to tie the score.  Jake Murphy's (Rockville Centre, NY) layup put the Privateers back in front, 48-46, then a Clark Castleberry trey gave the Mariners a 49-48 edge with 53 seconds left.  Devaney hit a layup on the other end, though, making it 50-49 Maritime with 34 seconds to go.  After Vencel missed a dunk, Murphy grabbed a rebound and the Privateers called their final timeout.  Devaney was immediately fouled, but couldn't convert the front end of a one-and-one and Zalescik secured the ball for Merchant Marine, setting up the Mariners' game-winning sequence.

Evan Block (Seaford, NY) recorded his second straight double-double and fifth of the season with 14 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.  He also distributed four assists.  Devaney finished with 12 points and nine boards, while Murphy had nine points and six rebounds.  As a team, Maritime went 20-for-60 (33.3 percent) from the field, 8-for-32 (25 percent) from long range, and 2-for-5 (40 percent) at the free throw line.

Theo Noble (Bronx, NY) scored five quick points to give the Privateers an early lead.  Merchant Marine responded with a 5-0 run of its own, though, to tie the game.  It was still deadlocked at 13-13 when Block drained a three to start a 9-0 rally that put Maritime in front, 22-13, with 6:39 remaining in the first half.  The Mariners rattled off nine straight points to level the score at 22-22 before Devaney's layup with three seconds left until halftime made it 24-22 in favor of the Privateers at the break.

After a Devaney layup to start the second half extended the margin to four points, Merchant Marine went on a 7-2 spurt to go in front, 29-28.  Devaney responded with a trey, though, to spark a 16-3 Maritime rally.  The Privateers opened up their largest lead of the game, 44-32, on a Murphy three-pointer with 5:34 to go.

For the Mariners, Drew Zalescik tallied a game-high 19 points and added seven boards.  Vencel, meanwhile, posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.  Max Koeppl registered 12 points and seven boards for Merchant Marine, while Mason Lavergne handed out four assists.  The Mariners shot 32.1 percent (18-of-26) from the floor, 32.1 percent (9-of-28) from downtown, and 50 percent (6-of-12) at the charity stripe.

This was Maritime's final road game of the season.  Each of the Privateers' last two regular season contests are at Riesenberg Gymnasium, starting with a 7 p.m. matchup against St. Joseph's Brooklyn (5-18, 2-12 Skyline) on Wednesday.  Maritime won the first meeting of the season between the teams, 68-60 on Jan. 11.