OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – The Maritime Basketball team fell to the Old Westbury Panthers on Saturday afternoon by the score of 74-53 at the Clark Athletic Center on Long Island.
 
Maritime was led by a pair of sophomores as John Liccese (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) recorded a team-best 13 points, while Patrick MacDonald (Buffalo, N.Y./Canisius) added 10 points and collected a team-high 15 rebounds for the double-double.
 
Junior Isaiah Hayes (Jamaica, N.Y./Queens Teaching) turned in his best start of the season as he collected eight points and pulled down six rebounds. Classmate Brendon Halligan (Durham, N.Y./Cairo-Durham) added eight points and four boards, while Tim Hoch (Coventry, R.I./Fishers Island (N.Y.)) rounded out the starting lineup and added a basket with one rebound.
 
Maritime got 12 points from its bench as freshman Pat Conway (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River) was 2-for-4 from the floor. Sophomore Christian Bilger (Wimberley, Texas/Wimberley) and freshman Steven Gessner (Mineola, N.Y./Mineola) both recorded three points apiece. Rookie Michael Walker (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) converted on a pair of free throws for two points as well.
 
After falling behind 4-0, Hoch answered with a jumper for the first Privateer points of the day to make the score 4-2. Liccese answered a layup by Old Westbury with a three-point basket to trim the deficit to one.
 
Hayes pulled down a defensive board and fed Liccese, who knocked down another three-pointer to give Maritime its first lead at 8-6. Halligan made it three-straight three-pointers on the next possession as Maritime took an 11-6 advantage.
 
Old Westbury tied the game at 11 and then took a three-point lead at 16-13, but Liccese was there to answer once again with a three-point basket to knot the game again. Turnovers and missed shots plagued the Privateers through the remainder of the half as Old Westbury took a 42-25 lead into the half.
 
MacDonald got the scoring going in the second half with a layup, and eventually Maritime trimmed the lead to 12 as Hayes drained a basket to make cut the score to 43-31. However, the Panthers went on yet another run to regain an 18-point lead at 52-34.
 
Walker started to help the team try to pry its way back into the game with a pair of made free throws. After a defensive rebound by Liccese, Hayes jammed the ball home with a dunk, followed by another dunk from Conway to make the score 53-40.
 
Old Westbury was able to keep the Privateers at a distance as the Panthers closed out the game by the score of 74-53.
 
Maritime (0-6, 0-1 Skyline) will look towards its next contest on Sunday, December 13 when the Privateers return to Riesenberg Hall Gymnasium for a 1 p.m. tip-off against the Mount St. Mary Knights.