Farmingdale State - 96, Maritime - 86
Farmingdale, N.Y. - The Farmingdale State men's basketball team recorded their second highest point total of the season in tonight's 96-86 conference victory over Maritime. The Rams (7-8, 7-3) are now in third place in the Skyline Conference.
Farmingdale State led 23-18 with 11:38 remaining in the first half and used a 7-0 run to extend the advantage to 30-18. After Maritime (2-11, 2-6) closed within eight at 38-30, the Rams scored seven unanswered points capped off by a Matthew Graham (Valley Stream, N.Y.) 3-pointer to go ahead 44-30 with 2:37 left in the half. FSC took a 49-37 lead into the break as sophomore guard Trey Kinard (Deer Park, N.Y.) tallied 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the first half.
Leading 58-48 early in the second, the Rams went on a 7-0 run to increase the lead to 17, 65-48.
With 10:29 remaining, an Isaiah Hayes (Jamaica, N.Y.) layup cut the Maritime deficit to 73-63, but the Rams responded with five straight points over the next 51 seconds to bring the advantage back to 15.
The Privateers would only close within eight points over the final minutes as FSC earned the 96-86 victory.
Freshman forward George Riefenstahl (Bayport, N.Y.) scored 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting and had seven rebounds, while Kinard also scored 22 after shooting 8-for-13 from the field. Graham finished with 14 points and a team-high six assists, while junior forward Weldon Irvine (Queens, N.Y.) and sophomore guard Liam Monaghan (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) each tallied 11 points.
Maritime was led by Hayes' double-double of 19 points and 15 rebounds. Sophomore guard John Liccese (Bronx, N.Y.) pitched in with 18 points and a game-high nine assists.
The Rams next will host first place Sage (8-2) on Saturday, January 16th at 3:00 p.m.
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