Junior guard Lamar Fields was one of five Privateers to finish in double figures, scoring a career high 25 points. Fellow junior, forward Justen Price, scored 21 points and grabbed 11 boards. The other two Privateers, aside form Dougherty, to finish in double digits were sophomore guards Joseph Bracaglia and Kenneth Kelly who each finished with 16 points.
In what was a fast paced game, the Privateers held the only lead at the conclusion of a half, leading 38-35 at the end of the first half. They would hold the lead for most of the second half, only to have the Trailblazers sink two from the charity stripe with 38 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
In the second overtime, Maritime had the win in their sights following a jumper from Kelly with 1.1 left on the clock. However, while celebrating the shot, the Privateers were caught off guard on defense and the Trailblazers sunk an easy lay-up to send the game into a third overtime.
In the third overtime, Maritime jumped out to an early four point lead, yet MCLA would scratch and claw their way back and once again tie the game with just 7.5 seconds left to force a fourth extra period.
Dougherty continued to get hot in the extra periods, scoring eight of the Privateers ten points of the fourth overtime. However, he wasn’t the only one turning up the heat as senior guard Adam Garner scored seven points including two free throws with 18.5 left to send the game into a fifth and final overtime period.
In the final stanza, Kelly sunk a lay-up to give the Privateers an early 119-117 lead. In the final seconds of the period, clinging to a 125-124, freshman forward Kenneth Chapman sunk 1-of-2 from the line to give Maritime the two point advantage. MCLA had one final chance at the net, but came up short.
“This was the most draining and emotional game I’ve ever been a part of,” stated Maritime head coach Tom Spina, who is currently in his fourth year with the team and was also a four-year letter winner for the Privateers from 1990-1994. This was the Privateers first multi-overtime game since suffering an 80-78 loss to conference foe Saint Joseph’s College in double overtime on January 15, 2005. The last single overtime game for Maritime came a year ago against the Trailblazers with the Privateers walking out with an 83-78 win.
Junior guard Dave Bisesi finished tonight’s game with 47 points, shooting 13-of-22 from the field and 15-of-19 from the free throw line. Garner also finished in double figure for the Trailblazers with 22 points, while junior forward Chris Voght finished with 19 points in defeat.
Tonight’s victory improves the Privateers to 1-3 overall, while MCLA loses their third straight game via overtime, falling to 0-4 on the year.