KINGS POINT, N.Y. --- (www.OLDWESTBURYPANTHERS.com) SUNY Old Westbury men's basketball went on a 12-5 scoring spree to prevail Tuesday evening with a 78-73 Skyline Conference overtime road triumph over the United States Merchant Marine Academy Mariners (7-11, 3-6 Skyline) inside Liebertz Gymnasium in Kings Point, New York. The Panthers (11-6, 7-1 Skyline) extends its win streak to seven games and improves to a 5-1 mark against USMMA since the Mariners rejoined the Skyline Conference in 2016-17.

USMMA claimed the 5-2 advantage 2:24 into the opening half capped by a Conner Green three-pointer. 1:13 later, Pedro Marquez knocked down a jumper to ignite an Old Westbury 7-0 run to claim the narrow four-point lead, 9-5, with 14:22 remaining. After a seesaw battle that saw both teams holding brief three-point leads and eight ties over the half's next 13:37, the Panthers regained the lead and sent the 29-27 game into the break.

16 seconds into the second-half, Seth Barnes connected from deep to kickstart a 10-0 run for USMMA build a game-high 10-point cushion, 39-29, with 17:36 left. A Charles Wingate jumper 25 seconds later helped Old Westbury respond with a 14-2 spurt to trim the deficit and reclaim the two-point lead, 43-41, with 13:46 remaining. Over the next 6:29, both teams wrestled for the edge as Mike Morsberger's layup knotted the game at 53. With 5:29 showing on the second-half clock, Justin Alleyne-Washington sank a free-throw to start a 6-2 run for the Panthers to hold a four-point margin, 59-55. Harlow Babb's layup (3:00) and Barnes' three-pointer (1:21) gave the Mariners the 60-59 lead before Pierrce Perry made a critical freebie with 33 seconds remaining to tie the game at 60. After Marquez stole the ball at the 20 second mark, Wingate's layup with three seconds left rattled out as the game moved to overtime.

Alleyne-Washington put away two free throws at 4:36 as part of Old Westbury's 12-5 run to claim the team-high seven-point lead, 72-65, with 44 seconds left.  Babb nailed a three-pointer to bring USMMA within three (76-73) with four seconds remaining to play. Wingate would then ice the game with a pair of freebees to settle the 78-73 final.

Alleyne-Washington finished with 19 points (5-of-9 FG, 1-of-3 3FG, 8-of-10 FT), 11 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals to post his 12th-career double-double. Marquez followed with 14 points (6-of-6 FT), four rebounds and  four assists. Wingate chipped in with 11 points while Winston added 10 points (3-of-4 FT), five rebounds and two steals
 
James Walsh led all scorers with 25 points (10-of-16 FG, 5-of-8 3FG) to pace USMMA. Barnes contributed 17 points (6-of-11 FG, 3-of8 3FG, 2-of-2 FT) while Blaine McDonough pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
In the end, Old Westbury shot 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the field, 25 percent (5-of-20) from three-point territory and 75 percent (27-of-36) from the free-throw line.  By comparison, USMMA connected on 42.2 percent (27-of-64) from the floor, 39.3 percent (11-of-28) from beyond the arc and 44.4 percent (8-18) from the charity stripe. OId Westbury won the boards battle, 39-38, while USMMA scored 15 second-chance points off 11 offensive rebounds. Old Westbury led the way in blocks (8-2), steals (8-6), bench points (21-9) and fastbreak points (8-2). USMMA held the edge in assists (14-11) and points in the paint (28-24) and scored 19 points off 13 Panther turnovers.

UP NEXT:
Old Westbury travels to Purchase, New York Thursday (Jan. 30) for a Skyline Conference showdown against the Manhattanville College Valiants (11-6, 6-2 Skyline) at 8 p.m. inside Kennedy Gymnasium. The Panthers will enter Thursday's matchup to 16-9 all-time versus Manhattanville.

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