PATCHOGUE, NY – The Maritime College men's basketball team traveled to St. Joseph's LI on Tuesday with a chance to clinch a spot in the Skyline Conference Tournament.  The Privateers (11-11, 7-6 Skyline) will have to wait to secure their place, however, as the Golden Eagles (11-11, 7-6 Skyline) came away with an 82-70 victory at the Danzi Center.

Zion Williams (Indianapolis, IN) went 11-for-18 from the field, including 5-for-7 from three-point range, to finish with 27 points.  He also notched six rebounds, five assists and three steals.  Jake Devaney (Washingtonville, NY) tallied 22 points and eight boards, while Tyler Anderson (Smithtown, NY) collected 13 points.  Evan Block (Seaford, NY) had six rebounds and four assists for Maritime, which shot 39.7 percent (27-of-68) from the floor as a team.  The Privateers were 9-for-34 (26.5 percent) from downtown and 7-for-14 (50 percent) at the charity stripe.

There were three ties and eight lead changes in a first half where neither side had an advantage of more than eight points.  After Maritime went ahead 15-12 at the 12:17 mark, St. Joseph's LI scored 13 of the next 15 points to take a 25-17 lead.  The Privateers responded with a 7-0 run to pull within one, 25-24, with 7:54 left in the half.  It was still a one-point game with 1:56 remaining until halftime, but the Golden Eagles got layups from AJ Esposito and Anthony Todd to go into the locker room with a five-point cushion, 34-29.

With St. Joseph's LI holding a 42-36 edge, Anderson drained a trey to start a 12-0 Maritime rally that put the Privateers back in front, 48-42.  The Golden Eagles scored the next 18 points, though, to open up a 70-56 advantage with 4:16 remaining.  The final margin was 12 points, 82-70, as St. Joseph's LI secured a season sweep of Maritime and clinched the tiebreaker over the Privateers.

Two Golden Eagles posted double-doubles in the game.  Kenny Rodriguez had 25 points and 11 rebounds to go along with five assists and three steals.  Esposito, meanwhile, ended up with 21 points, 17 boards and three assists.  Todd chipped in 10 points, while Jaiden Gaston and Corey Sommervil contributed nine points apiece.  Matthew Maxwell added eight points and four assists for St. Joseph's LI.  The Golden Eagles shot a combined 45.5 percent (30-of-66) from the field, 38.9 percent (7-of-18) from long range, and 65.2 percent (15-of-23) at the free throw line.  St. Joseph's LI held a 48-37 edge on the glass.

Maritime wraps up its home schedule against Merchant Marine (7-14, 4-8 Skyline) at 1 p.m. on Saturday.  The Privateers earned a 69-66 victory over the Mariners at Kings Point on Jan. 7.