OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – The Maritime basketball team fell to the Old Westbury Panthers on Thursday evening, dropping the conference decision to the Panthers by a 76-66 score at the Clark Athletic Center.
 
Sophomore Brendan McGovern (Seaford, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) led the Privateers with 17 points including five three-point baskets. Senior Patrick MacDonald (Buffalo, N.Y./Canisius) was second on the team with 16 points, as he also led the squad with 13 rebounds including 10 in the first half.
 
Senior Isaiah Hayes (Jamaica, N.Y./Queens Teaching) added a dozen points and seven rebounds, while classmate John Liccese (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) notched seven points as the pair combined for nine assists. Rookie Brennan Whelan (Northport, N.Y./Northport) had six points with a team-high three steals, while sophomore Michael Walker (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) and classmate Jermaine Brathwaite (Brooklyn, N.Y./Nazareth Regional) added the final eight points for Maritime.
 
The Privateers opened the game with a basket as MacDonald connected on a layup off of a pass from Walker. Old Westbury took the lead with six unanswered points but Maritime evened the score at six before moving ahead by five at 17-12 with 13:34 left in the opening half.
 
The Panthers wrestled the lead back at 18-17 but McGovern knocked down a pair of three-pointers including a bank shot off the high glass. Liccese followed with a layup to give Maritime a 25-18 lead. Old Westbury was able to close the gap down to one in the waning minutes of the half to send the teams into the locker room with Maritime leading 32-31.
 
The game was close through the opening stages of the second half with the lead tied at 36, 40, and 44. The Panthers then went on a 9-4 run to regain a five-point edge before Brathwaite scored the next three points to slice the lead to two.
 
After Old Westbury opened a 63-57 lead, McGovern knocked down another three-pointer to trim the deficit back to three once again with 4:45 left in the half. However, the Panthers kept Maritime at a comfortable distance and held on for the 76-66 victory.
 
Maritime (3-4, 1-3 Skyline) will be back on the road with another tough Skyline task on Saturday evening, when the team travels to Yeshiva for an 8:30 p.m. start from the Max Stern Athletic Center.
 
Old Westbury (3-2, 2-1 Skyline) has its longest conference trip of the season, as the Panthers will head to the Kaplan Center in Newburgh, N.Y. for a 1 p.m. start against the Mount St. Mary Knights.