PURCHASE, NY – Trailing by one with 10 seconds left, the Maritime College men's basketball team had the ball and a chance to win at Purchase on Saturday afternoon.  However, Zion Williams (Indianapolis, IN) missed a layup and the Panthers grabbed the rebound.  After Sean Holzman went 1-for-2 at the free throw line, a three-point attempt by Jake Devaney (Washingtonville, NY) at the buzzer was off the mark, and Purchase (6-12, 4-5 Skyline) held on for a 77-75 victory over the Privateers (9-8, 5-3 Skyline) at Purchase College Gymnasium.

There were nine ties and 10 lead changes in the second half, as neither side had an advantage of more than five points over the final 20 minutes.  The Panthers went up 38-33 on a Holzman jumper to start the half, but Maritime responded with five straight points to tie the score.  Purchase regained a four-point edge at 44-40 before the Privateers countered with a 10-5 run to go ahead for the first time in the game, 50-49.

After a Tyler Anderson (Smithtown, NY) trey put Maritime in front 66-65, the Panthers got back-to-back threes from Holzman and Nate Maldonado to take a five-point advantage, 71-66, with 3:36 remaining.  It was still a four-point game, 74-70, when Williams drained a pair of free throws, then was fouled on a layup and completed the three-point play to give the Privateers a 75-74 lead with 29 seconds to go.  Maldonado drew a foul on the other end and sank both attempts at the line, icing the victory for Purchase.  The Holzman free throw made the final margin 77-75 and gave the Panthers their third straight home victory over Maritime (by a combined six points).

Both Devaney and Williams posted double-doubles in the game.  Devaney finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds to go along with five steals and three blocks.  Williams, meanwhile, had 24 points and a career-best 13 boards while also handing out two assists.  Anderson contributed eight points for the Privateers, who shot a combined 40.9 percent (27-of-66) from the field.  Maritime was held to just 18.5 percent (5-of-27) shooting from long range and was 16-for-27 (59.3 percent) at the charity stripe.

Purchase came out of the gates firing, racing out to an early 8-0 advantage.  The margin reached 13 points at 17-4 before the Privateers rallied back within nine at 20-11.  The Panthers responded with a pair of three-pointers, though, top open up their largest lead of the game, 26-11, at the 9:21 mark of the first half.  A Jesse Tricario (New Hyde Park, NY) free throw ignited a 10-0 Maritime run, though, trimming the deficit to five at 26-21.  The Privateers eventually pulled within two when a Williams jumper made it 34-32 with 2:02 left until halftime.  Purchase's cushion at the break was 36-33.

Five Panthers scored in double figures, led by Desmond Ward's 19 points.  He grabbed 11 rebounds to complete a double-double.  Holzman and Maldonado notched 13 points apiece, while Chris Hunter finished with 12 points.  Maurice Western tallied 11 points and five assists, and Trey Skeete had nine points and nine boards to go along with three assists and two steals.  As a team, Purchase shot 42.4 percent (25-of-59) from the floor, 37.1 percent (13-of-35) from downtown, and 56 percent (14-of-25) at the free throw line.

Maritime returns to Riesenberg Gymnasium on Wednesday night for a 7 p.m. matchup with Mount St. Vincent (2-15, 1-7 Skyline).