Cold First Half Dooms Maritime in Conference Matchup at Mount St. Mary

More news about: SUNY-Maritime

NEWBURGH, N.Y. – The Maritime basketball team rang in 2018 with a Skyline Conference loss to the Mount St. Mary Knights at the Kaplan Center by the score of 71-60 on Tuesday evening.
 
Maritime was led by senior Patrick MacDonald (Buffalo, N.Y./Canisius) with 17 points and a game-high 15 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season. MacDonald also added a season-high three blocks on the game.
 
Sophomore Brendan McGovern (Seaford, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) was second on the team with 15 points, while senior guard John Liccese (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) was also in double-figures for the second straight game as he added 10 of Maritime's points. Freshman Brennan Whelan (Northport, N.Y./Northport) had his best shooting night of the season connecting on a season-high four three-pointers for his 12 on the evening.
 
Senior Isaiah Hayes (Jamaica, N.Y./Queens Teaching) had four points with seven rebounds and a pair of blocks to give him a team-best 15 blocks on the season. Liccese led the team with five assists, while junior James Bonner (Timonium, Md./Dulaney) collected three helpers on the night and was third on the team with five rebounds. Sophomore Michael Walker (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) added two points and four rebounds as well.
 
Maritime was ice cold from the field in the opening half as the Privateers shot just 20.59% from the floor, while Mount St. Mary connected on 53.33% of its 30 chances from the floor as the Knights held a 35-19 lead at the halftime break.
 
In the second half Maritime outscored its hosts by a 41-36 margin, but it was not enough to erase the first-half deficit.
 
After Mount St. Mary took a 19-point lead with 16:46 left in the second half at 44-25, Maritime began to connect on shots and slim the deficit. Liccese dropped a three-pointer, followed by a McGovern jumper, and another three-ball from Liccese to spur a short 8-3 burst for the Privateers.
 
McGovern then stepped back for a three-pointer followed by a pair at the line from MacDonald and a three-point basket by Whelan to cut the lead back within nine at 55-46 with 7:52 to go in regulation. McGovern made it a seven-point game with a layup, but the Knights responded with seven unanswered points to put the game out of reach with 3:43 to go.
 
Whelan added a late three-pointer to turn a 14-point hole into the 11-point loss by a final score of 71-60.
 
Maritime (5-5, 2-4 Skyline) will return home on Thursday evening, when the Privateers host the Merchant Marine Mariners for a 7 p.m. tip inside Riesenberg Hall Gymnasium.
 
Mount St. Mary (4-7, 4-2 Skyline) continues its stay at home, when the Knights welcome the Farmingdale Rams to the Kaplan Center on Thursday evening with the game beginning at 7 p.m.