#1 Farmingdale State - 73, #4 Maritime - 53
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. | The Farmingdale State men's basketball team defeated fourth-seeded Maritime, 73-53, in the Skyline Conference Semifinals on Thursday evening to earn their spot in the Championship Final. Second-seeded Manhattanville defeated #3 Yeshiva, 71-57, in the other Semifinals game and will travel to FSC for the Championship game on Saturday.
The Rams (20-7) opened the game with a jumper by senior guard Nick Hurowitz (Mount Sinai, N.Y.), two free-throws by senior forward Tre Riggins (Baldwin, N.Y.) and a layup by freshman forward Macai John (Hauppauge, N.Y.) to take a quick 6-0 lead.
After the Privateers (16-11) hit a 3-pointer, Riggins registered three more points before another John layup gave FSC an early eight-point advantage.
Farmingdale State held a 15-8 lead with 12:32 on the clock before senior guard Zamere McKenzie (Beacon, N.Y.) rattled in a 3 and both Hurowitz and Jovayne Walters (Cambria Heights, N.Y.) made back-to-back layups to take a 22-8 edge.
Maritime closed the gap to 10, 24-14, but a 10-0 spurt by the Rams, highlighted by 3's from Hurowitz and Kobe Thomas (Hicksville, N.Y.) and a Riggins slam, put FSC ahead by 20 with five minutes to play in the half.
The Privateers trailed by 13, 38-25, heading into the halftime break and quickly cut it to nine, 44-35, just 3:40 into the second half.
With 13:19 remaining, Farmingdale State used 3's from McKenzie and junior guard Jevon Santos (Elmont, N.Y.) and layups by senior guard Corey Powell (Valley Stream, N.Y.) and Walters to regain a commanding 20-point advantage at 58-38.
Over the final 9:05, FSC maintained at least a 16-point advantage as they went on for the 73-53 victory.
The Rams used 12 different scorers in the contest, with Hurowitz leading the way with 12 points. Riggins tallied 11 points, including 7-for-8 at the free-throw line, to go along with three rebounds and two blocked shots.
McKenzie knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and finished with eight points, while Santos recorded seven points, five rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block.
Powell produced six points, five rebounds and four assists, Walters registered four points and eight boards, and Thomas had five points and five rebounds.
Senior forward Elijah Galloway (Bronx, N.Y.) added six points off the bench and senior guard Aaron Davis (Valley Stream, N.Y.) tallied four points, three rebounds and four assists.
Farmingdale State will now play host to #2 Manhattanville on Saturday, February 25th at 1:00 p.m. for the Skyline Conference Championship. Admission to the Skyline Final remains the same as it was for the Semifinals, $5 for adults, with children 12 and under, as well as Skyline Conference students with an ID, free of charge. The winner will earn the Conference's automatic bid into the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball championship.
Skyline Conference Men's Basketball Championship Central
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