NEWBURGH, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College men's basketball team (1-3, 1-0 Skyline) started its Skyline Conference schedule off on the right foot, as the Knights defeated Maritime College (2-4, 0-1 Skyline), 58-49, Tuesday evening in their home opener at the Kaplan Center.
The first half of Tuesday's contest was a low-scoring, back-and-forth period that featured seven lead changes and three tie scores. The Knights ultimately grabbed a two-point halftime lead after junior guard
Stephen Steyer (Staten Island, N.Y.) sank a layup with 10 seconds before the break.
The lead changed hands six more times in the second frame, but the Knights took the lead for good after a three-pointer by sophomore guard
Connor Nicholson (Staten Island, N.Y.) put the Knights up, 38-35, with the clock reading 10:51. Maritime quickly got back within two just a couple minutes later, but a 7-0 run for the Knights gave them a 47-38 lead with 6:30 to go.
After John Liccese sank a layup to cut Maritime's deficit to seven, freshman guard
Daniel Wolff (Holtsville, N.Y.) drained a three to push the lead to 10 points. After a steal by Steyer, freshman forward
Gerard Nocera (Holmdel, N.J.) put in a tough layup stretch the lead to 12 points for the Knights.
The Knights had a bit of a scare in the final minute after Liccese was good on a layup and drew a foul to cut the Knight advantage to just seven points and steal some momentum back for Maritime. Liccese missed the ensuing free throw, allowing the Knights to run down the clock and make a pair of free throws to hold on for the victory.
Wolff paced the victorious Knights with 17 points, while Nocera turned in a strong effort with 16 points and five boards. Steyer did a little bit of everything for the Knights on Tuesday, scoring eight points, dishing out seven assists, pulling down six rebounds and registering four steals. Sophomore forward
Alex Smith (Marlboro, N.Y.) led the team with seven rebounds.
Liccese's 12 points off the bench led the Privateers Tuesday evening. T'Vaughn Gibson added 11 points and five rebounds, while Sean Corley had seven points, eight boards and three assists.
The Skyline rivals matched each other on the glass with 34 rebounds apiece on Tuesday. The Knights shot 45.3 percent (24-of-53) on the evening, while holding their opponents to 38.9 percent (21-of-54) shooting. The home team was also aided by Maritime's poor free throw shooting, as the visitors made just 4-of-13 (30.8 percent) of their attempts from the charity stripe.
The Knights will look to keep their momentum rolling as they travel out to Patchogue, N.Y. for a Skyline Conference matchup with St. Joseph's College (L.I.) on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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