FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – The Maritime men's basketball team began the 2015 calendar with its first conference victory of the season, as the team knocked off the Farmingdale Rams on Wednesday evening by the score of 66-58 on the campus of Farmingdale State College.
 
Senior T'Vaughn Gibson (Freeport, Bahamas/Sunland Baptist Academy) led the team with 17 points, and also added seven rebounds with six coming in the first half. Sophomore Brendon Halligan (Durham, N.Y./Cairo-Durham) and freshman John Liccese (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) each collected 12 points each, with all of Halligan's points coming by way of long-range shots. Rookie Patrick MacDonald (Buffalo, N.Y./Canisius) registered his first career double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
 
As a team, the unit had a season-best 45 rebounds while also having a season-best night from the free throw line as the squad hit 22 of 27 for a season-best 81.5% from the charity stripe.
 
Farmingdale jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, but Maritime responded as MacDonald and Liccese combined for four straight at the line to put the Privateers up by a 4-3 score. Farmingdale answered with a basket before Halligan drilled his first three of the night from the left corner.
 
The Privateers collected four more unanswered points and took an 11-8 advantage after MacDonald put up a mid-range jumper from the left elbow. Farmingdale pulled back within one but sophomore Tim Hoch (Coventry, R.I./Fishers Island (N.Y.)) answered with a two-point basket.
 
With Maritime trailing by a pair, sophomore Bobby Parlow (Bay Head, N.J./Point Pleasant Beach) evened up the game at 17 when he took a pass from Liccese for the easy layup. Gibson took over and hit a pair of fast-break layups followed by a three-pointer from outside the right elbow to give the Privateers a 24-17 lead.
 
The half ended with Halligan hitting back-to-back three pointers in the final three minutes as Maritime ended the period on a 6-5 run to take a 33-27 lead into the locker room.
 
In the second half, the Privateers exploded as Halligan got the scoring going once again with a three-pointer off of a Liccese pass. MacDonald put up a pair of baskets before Gibson sank two from the free throw line, then came down the floor again and knocked down a long-range three from the top of the arc.
 
Senior Sean Corley (Harlem, N.Y./Thurgood Marshall Academy) got in on the scoring action with a reverse layup, as he collected a ball that a Farmingdale player was trying to save from going out of bounds to increase Maritime's lead to 49-33 as the Privateers scored 16 of the first 22 points in the half to take their largest lead of the game at 16 points.
 
However, the stingy Farmingdale team went on a 15-5 run to pull back within six at 54-48. With 2:51 in the game left to go, the Rams pulled within three at 57-54. Sophomore Isaiah Hayes (Jamaica, N.Y./Queens Teaching) knocked down a pair at the line to give Maritime a two-possession lead, but again Farmingdale responded with a layup and two free throws to trim the margin to one.
 
With 28 seconds left in the second half, Hayes drove towards the lane, the Farmingdale defense bit on the drive, which in turn left Gibson open on the left wing. The senior put up a three-pointer and knocked down the shot to put Maritime back up by four at 62-58.
 
Maritime iced the game as MacDonald sank a pair from the line, followed by Hayes picking up one-of-two from the stripe, with Corley doing the same with five seconds left. The free throw from Corley gave Maritime an eight-point lead and victory by the score of 66-58.
 
The Privateers will look to keep their momentum going on Saturday, when Maritime (3-6, 1-2 Skyline) plays host to the Sage Gators for a 2 p.m. tip from the Riesenberg Hall Gymnasium. Farmingdale (2-9, 0-4 Skyline) will also face a tough opponent when the Rams travel to Mount St. Mary for a 1 p.m. start on Saturday afternoon.