NEWBURGH, N.Y. - On the road at Maritime College, Mount Saint Mary College trailed the whole way and eventually dropped a Skyline Conference game, 77-66. The Blue Knights are now 7-12 overall (6-8 Skyline), while the Privateers are 12-4 overall (10-3 Skyline).

Trailing by five at the half, the Mount cut the Maritime lead to two on several occasions in the second half. A layup by junior Matt Weinberger (Washingtonville, N.Y.) at the 12:33 mark made the score 48-46 in favor of the Privateers, but Maritime senior Andre Cooper (Baltimore, Md.) answered with a three-point play.

The Blue Knights watched Maritime extend their lead back to nine as junior Shamair Williams (Brooklyn, N.Y.) threw down a monster dunk with 6:40 remaining. On the play, however, Williams was whistled for hanging on the rim and Mount Saint Mary freshman Lenny Ragaglia (Staten Island, N.Y.) drained both free throws resulting from the technical foul. On the ensuing possession for the Mount, Ragaglia got an open look from three and drained it to bring the Blue Knights to within four (60-56).

Unfortunately for the Mount, Maritime answered the Ragaglia triple with a 9-1 run and led 69-57 with a little more than three minutes to play. A Weinberger layup with just under two to play cut the lead back under double digits, but the Blue Knights would get no closer.

Weinberger led Mount Saint Mary with 20 points, his highest output of the season. The junior played all 40 minutes, shot 9-of-16 from the floor, and also dished out 4 assists. Sophomore Kevin Milella (Floral Park, N.Y.) was the next highest scorer with 13, while Ragaglia finished with 11. Sophomore Carlos Valdez (Slate Hill, N.Y.) finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds, but was limited to just one field goal.

For Maritime, junior Justin Bright (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led the way with 20 points. Cooper had another nice game against the Blue Knights, totaling 17 points and 8 assists. Williams had 14 points and senior Adedokun Olanrewaju (Brooklyn, N.Y.) chipped in with 13.

As they have done so many times this season, the Blue Knights got off to a terrible start. They trailed 21-5 after the first nine minutes of play and spent the rest of the first half clawing their way back into the game. At one point, Mount Saint Mary ripped off 15 consecutive points to make the score 28-26, but it was Maritime that carried a 35-30 advantage into the half.

Following up on a 59-percent shooting effort in the previous game between the two teams, Maritime shot well once again, connecting at 49-percent. The Blue Knights finished right around their season average at 43.8-percent.

Mount Saint Mary faces another key Skyline Conference game on Wednesday. The Blue Knights host Sage at 7:00 p.m. on February 3.