Newburgh, N.Y. - With his team trailing by eleven points at the half, Mount Saint Mary College junior Alex Kuchar (Rutherford, N.J.) scored 25 second half points, leading his team to a tremendous comeback victory over conference foe Maritime College, 73-67. Entering the game tied for third in the Skyline at 3-1, the Blue Knights jumped into sole possession of second place with the win (4-1) and trail only St. Joseph's College in the standings. The Privateers tumbled to fifth with the loss and now sit at 3-2. MSMC is 7-3 overall while Maritime is now 5-4.

Kuchar opened the second half with a three-point play and went on to score eleven of the first sixteen points for the Blue Knights in the period. A floating jumper in the lane at the 13:52 mark closed the gap to five (50-45), bringing the Mount to within striking distance for the first time since the three-minute mark of the first half.

After trading a lay-up and a free throw for two Maritime lay-ups, MSMC trailed 54-48 with twelve minutes to play. Kuchar continued to lead the comeback charge, converting back-to-back lay-ups before drilling a three-pointer in the corner to bring the Blue Knights to within one. With the teams scoreless for the next minute and a half thanks to four combined turnovers and a blocked shot, senior Jason Cardez (Ridgewood, N.Y.) broke the drought with a jumper to give the Mount their first lead (57-56) since the 15:48 mark of the first half.

Tied at fifty-nine, Maritime sophomore Jermelle Fraser (Bronx, N.Y.) hit consecutive buckets at the Maritime end, but was answered each time with lay-ups on the other end, the first by Cardez and the second by Kuchar. A pair of free throws by MSMC junior Chris Harrison (Baldwin, N.Y.) at the 3:47 mark gave the Blue Knights the lead for good, and Kuchar extended the lead with the next five points for the Mount to give them a 70-65 lead. Two free throws by Cardez with 29 seconds to play put the game on ice.

Kuchar shot 11-of-16 in the second half, finishing the game with 29 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Cardez had 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting and also contributed 5 boards and 4 assists. Harrison finished with a team-high 9 rebounds.

Maritime senior Jamal Webb (Tuckahoe, N.Y.) led the Privateers with 18 points on 8-of-12 from the field. Juniors Tim Dougherty (Fresh Meadows, N.Y.) and Rashawn Pringle (Bronx, N.Y.) joined Webb in double figures with 15 and 11 points, respectively.

The spark for the comeback by the Blue Knights came at the defensive end of the floor. After yielding 40 first half points, the second highest total of the season (Vassar, 41), MSMC allowed only 27 points in the second half The Privateers shot 42.3% from the field in the second half as compared to 60.7% in the first.

Freshman Matt Weinberger (Washingtonville, N.Y.) did an excellent job of limiting Webb, Maritime's leading scorer, in the second half. Webb was 2-of-4 for 4 points in the second stanza after a 6-of-8, 14-point performance in the first. Cardez, Kuchar, and freshman Scott Henderson (Baldwin, N.Y.) each had three steals on the night as the Blue Knights forced 21 turnovers.

After a closely contested first half that featured five ties, Maritime closed the period with a 9-0 run to nab a 40-29 half-time advantage. Webb had five points during the run and Dougherty had the other four.

The Blue Knights close the semester with five consecutive victories and will not be in action again until December 30 as they compete in the Surf City Classic in Irvine, California. MSMC will take on Husson College and Occidental College in the two-day event held at Concordia University. Maritime is off until they host Brooklyn College on December 29.