THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – Senior T'Vaughn Gibson (Freeport, Bahamas/Sunland Baptist Academy) of the Maritime men's basketball team became the third player in modern program history to reach 1,000 career points on Saturday afternoon, as the Privateers dropped a close contest to the Purchase Panthers by the score of 68-65 from the Riesenberg Hall Gymnasium.
 
For Gibson, he joins Giovanni Hurley and Timothy Dougherty with four-figures in career points as he entered the day just three shy of the millennium mark. Hurley finished his career with 1,248 in 106 career contests, while Dougherty netted 1,202 points in 102 career games.
 
Fittingly, Gibson hit a three-point basket to reach 1,000 points as he is already the modern day program record holder for three-pointers in a career with 105 in his 91 career games. Overall for his four seasons at Maritime, he is third on total field goals made with 377, behind just Hurley and Dougherty.
 
Gibson finished the game with eight points, but led the team with nine rebounds on the game along with sophomore Isaiah Hayes (Jamaica, N.Y./Queens Teaching), who had nine boards to go along with 14 points. Senior Sean Corley (Harlem, N.Y./Thurgood Marshall Academy) had a season-best 17 points on the afternoon, while ripping down seven defensive rebounds. Freshman Patrick MacDonald (Buffalo, N.Y./Canisius) also chipped in with eight points, as did sophomoreBrendon Halligan (Durham, N.Y./Cairo-Durham) as Maritime's starting five combined for 55 of the team's 65 points.
 
Gibson's 1,000-point shot proved to be a key one in terms of the game too as the senior gave the Privateers their first lead of the contest at 13:36 of the first half to put Maritime up by a 13-12 score after a sluggish start for the Privateers.
 
Purchase regained its lead on the next possession, but Maritime responded with six unanswered points as Corley sank a layup followed by MacDonald with back-to-back easy buckets. The lead then swung back in favor of the Panthers, as Purchase went on a roll and took a 12-point advantage at 37-25 with 3:56 left in the opening period.
 
Maritime rallied once again as Hayes went on a 5-0 run alone, followed by a jumper from Gibson to pull the Privateers within five points. Both sides exchanged a pair of free throws as the Panthers took a 39-34 lead into the halftime break.
 
In the second half, Hayes knocked down a jumper off a pass from Corley to pull the Privateers within three at 39-36, but Purchase answered with a jumper. Corley hit a layup off a Panther giveaway, then on the next Maritime possession Halligan stepped back to drain a three-pointer to knot the game at 41 with 16:44 left in the half.
 
Maritime got the lead up to three on each of its next possessions as the two sides exchanged baskets. Following a missed three-pointer from Halligan, Hayes pulled down the offensive board to keep possession in favor of the home team. The ball was then back in the hands of Halligan, who in turn knocked down another three-point basket to put the Privateers up by six.
 
The Panthers scored the next half-dozen points to tie the game, but sophomore Bobby Parlow (Bay Head, N.J./Point Pleasant Beach) got his team back on track with a layup. However, the Panthers then rattled off six straight to put Purchase up by four, but Gibson and MacDonald knocked down back-to-back shots to tie the game at 59.
 
The Privateers were able to tie the game again at 62, following a Gibson free throw, but Purchase was able to pull away late and outscore Maritime 6-1 to have a five-point lead with nine seconds left in the game.
 
Corley had a last-ditch effort on a three-pointer with five seconds remaining from the top of the three-point arch and was fouled in the act of shooting to send the senior to the line for three. He sank the first two, before missing the third with Purchase coming down with the defensive board. Corley then ran after his own rebound to tie up the player, forcing the officials to call a jump ball with the possession arrow in favor of Maritime.
 
With the Privateers trailing by three, Corley inbounded the ball and found Gibson at the top of the arch. Gibson danced around a Panther defender for an open three-pointer but missed just a bit long as the horn sounded as Purchase escaped with the three-point win.
 
Maritime (6-17, 4-12 Skyline) will wrap up the home portion of the schedule on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. from Riesenberg Hall Gymnasium, when the Old Westbury Panthers visit for senior night as Corley and Gibson will be honored before the game in an on-court ceremony.
 
Purchase (8-14, 8-7 Skyline) will return home for the final three games of its season beginning with Mount St. Vincent on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m.