THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – The Maritime men's basketball team had its two-game winning streak stopped on Thursday evening as the Privateers fell at home to the St. Joseph's (LI) Golden Eagles by the score of 67-63 from the Riesenberg Hall Gymnasium.
 
Senior T'Vaughn Gibson (Freeport, Bahamas/Sunland Baptist Academy) led the team with 17 points on the night, followed by freshman John Liccese (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) with 12. Senior Sean Corley (Harlem, N.Y./Thurgood Marshall Academy)added in 11 points, while also picking up a team-best 10 boards for his second straight double-double. Sophomore Brendon Halligan(Durham, N.Y./Cairo-Durham) also reached double-figures in points with 10 on the game. Sophomore Isaiah Hayes (Jamaica, N.Y./Queens Teaching) had a season-best seven blocks, while also collecting nine points.
 
St. Joseph's opened the scoring with a basket, but Maritime evened the game with a layup from freshman Patrick MacDonald(Buffalo, N.Y./Canisius). The Golden Eagles surged ahead to take a seven-point lead, but Maritime pulled back within two at 13-11 following a jumper by Gibson from the top of the paint.
 
With the Golden Eagles leading by five, the Privateers chipped away to make the score 24-20 following a free-throw make by Hayes. Sophomore Bobby Parlow (Bay Head, N.J./Point Pleasant Beach) drained a jumper off a pass from Corley, which was then followed by Halligan sinking a layup in transition off of a pass from Liccese.
 
Maritime took its first lead of the game on its next possession as Liccese stepped back to drain a three-pointer with 3:41 to go in the half as he made the score 27-24. After St. Joseph's tied the game at 29 with 1:26 to go, Corley hit a layup to put Maritime up 31-29 heading into the halftime break.
 
The Privateers got their lead up to four points on two occasions in the first minute of the second half on baskets by Hayes and Gibson. Over the next four-plus minutes of the game, St. Joseph's was unable to hit a single field goal, but did however chip away at and take a one-point lead by way of the free throw with 14:57 to go as the score was 41-40.
 
The two sides continued to exchange points, but Maritime did not allow St. Joseph's to take a double-figure lead through the waning minutes. The Golden Eagles led by as many as seven with 5:21 to go in regulation but the Privateers were unable to sink their shots with several opportunities and a few defensive stands.
 
Both teams sank a pair of free throws, and the night ended with a steal by Corley and good layup by Gibson on a buzzer-beater to cap off the scoring at 67-63.
 
As a team, the Privateers took a season-high 70 field goals, but only converted on 24 (34.3%). The team was also 4-of-18 from three-point land (22.2%), and was only able to hit 57.9% from the line on 11-of-19 shooting.
 
Maritime (5-10, 3-5 Skyline) will wrap-up its three-game homestand on Saturday evening when the team plays host to Yeshiva for an 8:30 p.m. tip at the Riesenberg Hall Gymnasium.
 
St. Joseph's (9-6, 6-2 Skyline) will trek up north to Mount St. Mary on Saturday for a 1 p.m. start at the Kaplan Center in Newburgh, N.Y.