The SUNY Old Westbury men's basketball team topped the Mariners of the United States Merchant Marine Academy, 74-65. The victory sets the Panthers at 8-15 on the season and 6-7 in Skyline Conference play. 

Christian Thomas led with a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds to go with two blocks and two steals. Jermaine King followed with 17 points and led with seven assists and two steals. Josh Minton, who hit four three-pointers, followed with 12 points from the bench. Joel Ofori had 10 rebounds and added two blocks. 

The Mariners opened the contest on a 6-0 run. Back-to-back layups from Ofori paired with a layup and foul shot from Thomas knotted the score at nine after seven minutes. Three minutes later, Stephon Rosch Kouassi's layups kicked off an 11-0 run that put the home team in front, 23-18 with 5:27 left in the half. Old Westbury's lead would increase to as much as 16, 36-20, at the break.

Merchant Marine threatened multiple times in the second half, shooting at a 47 percent clip in the second 20 minutes as opposed to 28 percent in the first. The visitors would work the score to within single digits six times, including as close as 70-63 in the final minute. Old Westbury's strong first half and successful foul shooting down the stretch would be enough to outlast the momentum and secure the victory.

The Panthers will be on the road on Saturday, February 14 as they take on the Bears of St. Joseph's University Brooklyn at 3:00 pm.