OLD WESTBURY, NY (www.oldwestburypanthers.com) – The SUNY College at Old Westbury men's basketball tallied four players in double-digits to lead the Panthers past the Maritime Privateers, 71-68, in a Skyline Conference opener on Tuesday evening at the Clark Athletic Center. The win moves Old Westbury to 2-1 on the season and 1-0 in conference play while Maritime drops to 2-2 and 0-1, respectively. 

After falling behind 18-11 at the 12:10 mark, the Panthers used a 12-4 run to take a 23-22 lead off a lay-up by senior Patrick Bonna (Brooklyn, NY) with 6:21 left in the first-half. The game was tight the rest of the half and a lay-up by senior Bill Reese (Selma, AL) with 25 second left gave the Panthers a 32-30 lead at the break. Reese accounted for nine of Old Westbury's 32 first-half points going 4-of-8 from the field. 

Both teams traded buckets for most of the second half until senior Kuwam Are (Brooklyn, NY) sank a pair of free-throws with 5:59 remaining in the game to give Old Westbury a 57-56 lead, a lead that the Panthers would not lose. Old Westbury outscored Maritime 16-12 over the final 5:59, shooting 5-of-10 from the field, going 6-of-6 from the stripe with zero turnovers. Maritime shot 5-of-7 from the floor and 2-of-4 from the line with two turnovers. Bill Reese poured in a lay-up with 18 second to give Old Westbury a 69-66 lead. Senior Adedokun Olanreqaju (Brooklyn, NY) followed with a lay-up on the other end to close the deficit to one. Junior Jason Kondra (East Syracuse, NY) knocked down two free-throws to finish the scoring with 11 seconds and nabbed a steal to take away Maritime's hopes of going to overtime. 

Old Westbury had four players in double-figures as Bill Reese added 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor. Senior Hakiem George (New York, NY) followed with 14 points and six boards while classmate Shane DeNully (Bronx, NY) had 12 points and four rebounds and Jason Kondra added 11 points and two steals off the bench. Junior Lester Prosper (Bellmore, NY) pulled down a game-high 12 boards (six offensive) and Kuwam Are registered eight rebounds (four offensive) and one blocked shot. 

Adedokun Olanreqaju led Maritime with a game-high 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field to go with six rebounds and two steals in 25 minutes of action. Senior Andre Cooper (Baltimore, MD) followed with 17 points and junior Giovanni Hurley (Brooklyn, NY) chipped in with 11 points. 

For the first time all season Old Westbury outrebounded their opponent, holding a 39-30 advantage off the glass, including a 19-5 margin on the offensive end. The Panthers shot 36.4 percent (24-of-66) from the field while Maritime shot a sizzling 52.8 percent (28-of-53). Old Westbury connected on 19-of-21 (90.5%) from the charity stripe while Maritime hit 7-of-13 (53.8%). The Privateers turned the ball over 13 times while Old Westbury committed 10 turnovers. 

YESHIVA UP NEXT FOR THE PANTHERS: Old Westbury will hit the road for a Skyline Conference battle against the Yeshiva Maccabees on Thursday evening. Panthers and Maccabees tip off at 8 p.m. at the Furst Gymnasium. Please visit www.oldwestburypanthers.com for more information on men's basketball or any of the other Panther athletic teams.