NEWBURGH, N.Y. – Maritime senior Andre Cooper (Baltimore, Md.) scored 30 points to lead the Privateers to an 85-72 victory over Mount Saint Mary College on Tuesday evening. The Blue Knights fell to 5-8 overall and to 4-4 in the Skyline Conference, while the Privateers bumped up to 6-3 overall, 4-2 Skyline.
Maritime seized control of the game with a 9-0 run near the midpoint of the first half. The Privateers never looked back, leading by nine at the half and never by fewer than three in the second. Mount Saint Mary freshman
Lenny Ragaglia (Staten Island, N.Y.) had a chance to tie the game with 12:54 remaining in the second half, but a three-pointer was off the mark and Maritime answered with a layup at the other end.
The Blue Knights couldn’t find an answer for Cooper for the entire evening. The senior shot 7-of-10 from the floor and was 15-of-18 from the free throw line. As a team the Privateers shot 58.8% from the field.
For Mount Saint Mary, junior
Tim Morris (Greenwich, N.Y.) led the way with 20 points and 7 rebounds. Sophomore
Carlos Valdez (Slate Hill, N.Y.), returning to the lineup for the first time in two games, totaled 17 points and 8 rebounds. Junior
Matt Weinberger (Washingtonville, N.Y.) dished out 11 assists for the Blue Knights.
On the visiting side, senior Adedokun Olanrewaju (Brooklyn, N.Y.) contributed 22 points to the Maritime effort. Juniors Giovanni Hurley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Shamair Williams (Brooklyn, N.Y.) both reached double figures with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
The Blue Knights will try to snap a two-game losing streak on Thursday when they’ll host the Polytechnic Institute of NYU. The tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 14.