NEWBURGH, NY – For the second time this season, the Maritime College men's basketball team defeated Mount Saint Mary College on their final possession of the game. This time, it was sophomore Giovanni Hurley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) who hit the game-winner, knocking down a layup in the paint with 11 seconds to play to give the Privateers a 65-64 victory. Maritime improved to 9-7 overall and to 7-4 in Skyline Conference play while the Blue Knights dropped to 3-14 (3-7 Skyline).

After leading by four at the half (38-34), the Blue Knights pushed their advantage to as many as twelve in the opening ten minutes of the second half. A three-pointer from junior Chris Kingly (Washingtonville, N.Y.) near the ten minute mark staked the Mount to a 58-47 advantage. Maritime wouldn't let the Blue Knights pull away though, and scored the next seven points. Junior Kevin Josey (Staten Island, N.Y.) knocked down a triple at 7:32 to make it 58-54.

Trailing 61-57, Maritime senior Tim Dougherty (Fresh Meadows, N.Y.) hit a layup to trim the deficit to two at the 4:24 mark. The bucket also sent Dougherty past the 1,000 point mark for his career. Two empty possessions later, the Mount seemed to take control of the game when Kingly drained a three-pointer from the corner to give the Blue Knights a five point lead with 3:33 to play.

The Privateers still wouldn't go away, and a pair of free throws from sophomore Jermelle Fraser (Bronx, N.Y.) cut the lead to two. And after the Mount missed a three at the other end, sophomore Quamel Lyerly (Lawrence, N.Y.) hit a jumper to make it 64-63.

The score remained the same into the final minute of play and Mount Saint Mary called a timeout with fifty-four seconds on the clock. Out of the timeout, sophomore Matt Weinberger (Washingtonville, N.Y.) was called for a charge, turning the ball back over to the Privateers. Senior Chris Harrison (Baldwin, N.Y.) blocked the first game-winning attempt for the Privateers out of bounds, but couldn't stop Hurley as he scored the eventual game-winner from inside the paint.

The Blue Knights had two legitimate chances to win the game in the final eleven seconds. With five seconds to play, Harrison made a nice move in the post and his shot was halfway down before rattling out and going out of bounds off a Maritime player. Harrison had the ball again with four seconds, but a driving layup went off the front of the rim as time expired.

Freshman Carlos Valdez (Slate Hill, N.Y.) led the way for the Blue Knights, finishing with 20 points and 16 rebounds. Harrison tallied 16 points and 8 boards for the Mount, who shot 41.3-percent from the field as a team. They were just 8-for-18 at the free throw line.

Hurley guided the Privateers with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Dougherty totaled 9 points and 10 rebounds while Fraser chipped in with 13 points. Maritime shot 42.6-percent from the floor and connected on 9-of-15 atempts from the line.

Up next for Mount Saint Mary is a trip to Purchase College for a vital Skyline Conference game. Thursday night's game will go a long way towards determining the playoff picture for the league. The game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on January 29.