52 second half points by the Dolphins are enough to squeeze by St. Joseph’s Brooklyn 92-87 after being down double digit points for a majority of the second half. With the Win the Dolphins improved to 13-5 overall while the Bears fall to 12-6 overall.
The Dolphins opened up the scoring this afternoon on an 11-4 run with Will Fonseca leading the charge with eight points.  The Bears were able to come roaring back with a 7-0 run of their own to give the game its first tie. 
CSI was using their strength and size advantage early on using Fonseca and Thomas Delahanty to get in the paint for easy lay ups.  The Dolphins were up six with 13:58 remaining in the half which was their second largest lead of the half when the Bears started to catch fire.

Five three-point shots in a row by St. Joe’s gave them a 34-30 point lead with 7:09 remaining.  Matt O’Neill led the way with three of the five three’s which were all well defended.  The Bears’ defense also tightened up and the inside game for the Dolphins started to disappear as they resorted to long shots which gave way to an 11 point lead for the Bears with 1:38 remaining in the half.  Edin Bracic was able to whittle that 11 point lead down to just eight before half time with a deep three-point shot with just 1:00 remaining before half time.

Despite being down eight the Dolphins shot well above their season average and shot 55% from the floor however, they were still plagued by missed free throws as they were only able to convert 1-4.  The Bears were able to match the Dolphins’ hot shooting as they went into the locker room shooting 47% but were much better from the charity stripe and were able to cash in on 11-15 free throws.  St. Joseph’s Brooklyn shot a red hot 50% (7-14) from three-point land in the first half which allowed them to stay ahead of the Dophins.

CSI’s defense struggled to find a way to stop the Bears offense who started to shoot even better in the second half (56%) than they did in the first.  CSI tried to go shot for shot with the Bears but couldn’t match their three-point shooting which eventually resulted in a 17 point deficit with 7:10 remaining in the game.

Frank Schettino who had been quiet in the point column for most of the night came alive and hit back-to-back three point shots to bring the Dolphins within 11 points.  A quiet crowd for most of the evening came to life as the momentum started to switch towards the Dolphins’ favor.  Just like O’Neill in the first half for the Bears, Schettino made two more contested three’s just 30 seconds after he made back-to-back three’s to bring CSI within four. 

It was at this point that the crowd was on their feet as they sensed a comeback was in the making.  The Bears would stretch their lead to seven with 2:28 remaining but the Dolphins refused to give up.  Vincent Dacunto hadn’t scored all night but did he choose the right time to hit a big shot.  Just 1:48 remained in the game and the Dolphins were down five and the shot clock was winding down, Schettino was able to find a wide op Dacunto who buried a three to bring the score to within two points.
CSI called a timeout immediately after that made three to go over a press play.  The Dolphins came out of that timeout feeling confident they would be able to cause a turnover which they were able to.  Schettino was able to pick pocket O’Neill for an easy lay in to tie the game up at 87 apiece.

The Bears came flying down the court and tried to take the lead via a three-point shot however, they were not able to convert and Schettino was able to find Fonseca for his 13th assist of the game tying for second most assists in a game for the third time this season.  Fonseca would head to the line to try to add to the Dolphin lead but missed the free throw with 1:08 remaining.

St. Joe’s had another chance to tie the game but O’Neill was pick pocketed once again this time by Michael Tate who was fouled and sent to the line where he was able to make one to give the Dolphins a three  point lead with 10 seconds remaining.
With the game on the line and just 10 seconds remaining the O’Neill hurried down the floor and tried to shoot a three-pointer but was fouled by Schettino and headed to the line to shoot three free throws.

O’Neill stepped to the charity stripe with the ability to tie the game and missed all three free throws and on the third Tate was able to come down with the rebound to seal the deal for the Dolphins.

The Dolphins are back in action Wednesday against John Jay College at 7:30 pm here at the CSI Sports & Rec Center.