FARMINGDALE, NY – On Saturday afternoon, the Maritime College men's basketball team traveled to Farmingdale for a first-place showdown.  The sides entered the game tied for the top spot in the Skyline Conference's Black Division, and the contest featured nine lead changes.  However, the Rams (13-8, 10-2 Skyline) pulled away down the stretch to post a 74-60 victory over the Privateers (13-8, 9-3 Skyline) at the Walter A. Lynch Sports Center.

Maritime jumped out to an 11-3 advantage before Farmingdale responded with an 11-2 run of its own to go up 14-13.  After the teams traded baskets, the Privateers rattled off six consecutive points to build a 21-16 cushion.  Maritime was still in front, 25-21, at the 1:22 mark, but the Rams ended the half on a 6-0 spurt.  Jevon Santos hit a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left until halftime to give Farmingdale a 27-25 advantage at the break.

After five straight points by Theo Noble (Bronx, NY) put the Privateers back in front, 33-32, the Rams used a 14-3 run to open up a 46-36 margin with 13:05 remaining.  Maritime cut its deficit to five, 54-49, on Evan Block's (Seaford, NY) trey with 6:24 left.  It would get no closer, though, as Farmingdale scored 13 of the next 14 points to extend its advantage to 67-50.  The gap reached a game-high 19 points at 72-53 before the Privateers ended the contest on a 7-2 spurt to make the final difference 14 points, 74-60.

Jake Murphy (Rockville Centre, NY) had 14 of his team-high 16 points in the second half.  He also secured five rebounds.  Jake Devaney (Washingtonville, NY) finished with 11 points, seven boards and three blocks, while Noble added 11 points of his own.  Block tallied 10 points, eight rebounds and three steals for Maritime, which shot a combined 33.8 percent (22-of-65) from the field.  The Privateers went 7-for-28 (25 percent) from long range and 9-for-17 (52.9 percent) at the charity stripe.

For the Rams, Michael Notias led the way with 15 points.  James Notias contributed 13 points off the bench, while Kentrell Evans posted 13 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.  Liam Buckley had 12 points and six boards, and Santos handed out seven assists to go along with five boards and three steals.  Hamdel Mohammed, meanwhile, recorded eight points, eight rebounds and three blocks.  As a team, Farmingdale shot 47.9 percent (23-of-48) from the floor, 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from three-point land, and 82.1 percent (23-of-28) at the free throw line.

Three of Maritime's remaining four regular season contests are at Riesenberg Gymnasium.  The Privateers begin the string by hosting St. Joseph's LI (9-12, 8-4 Skyline) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.  Maritime earned a 67-63 victory over the Golden Eagles on Jan. 4.