CASTINE, Maine – Maine Maritime Academy men's basketball defeated SUNY Maritime 85-65 on Friday afternoon in the opening game of the Mariner Holiday Classic, inside of Smith Gymnasium.

A layup from Tyler Thayer (Hermon, Maine) gave the Mariners a 2-0 lead, but the Privateers responded with a layup of their own, before Maine Maritime went on a six-point run to take an 8-2 advantage with 16:43 to go in the first half. SUNY Maritime closed the gap to four on two made free throws from John Liccese, but the Mariners answered back with 10-unanswered points, highlighted by a pair of threes from Brendan Newcomb (Holden, Maine) and a dunk by Sam Meklin (Rockland, Maine), to build an 18-4 lead.

SUNY Maritime closed the gap to one possession (38-35) with 3:02 to go, but Thayer sank a jump shot and Newcomb splashed a three to cap off the first half, sending the Mariners into halftime with a 43-35 advantage.

The Privateers opened up the second half with four-unanswered points, but the Mariners outscored SUNY 14-2 to take a commanding 57-41 lead with 14:09 to go. The Mariners took their biggest lead of the game with 3:03 to go, following a layup by Nicholas DePatsy (Waldoboro, Maine), and cruised to the 85-65 victory.

DePatsy led all scorers with a career-high 22 points, on 6-for-11 shooting from beyond the arc, while also pulling down four rebounds, dishing out three assists, and a steal. Newcomb and Thayer tallied 17 points each. Newcomb added six rebounds, three assists, and a steal, while Thayer tallied a team-leading seven assists, four rebounds, and a steal. Adam Richardson (Bradley, Maine) added 12 points off the bench, while also pulling down four rebounds, and tallying four assists, and a steal.

Patrick Macdonald led the Privateers with 14 points, a game-high nine rebounds, two blocks, and a steal, while teammate Brendan McGovern also recorded 14 points. Liccese ended the evening with 11 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and a steal.

The Mariners improve to 2-7 overall, while the Privateers fall to 4-5 on the season. Maine Maritime will host Curry College tomorrow at 2:00 p.m., in the final game of the Mariner Holiday Classic.