The College of Staten Island men’s basketball season has been up-and-down through three games.  Tonight the Dolphins will head up the road to take on Division I opponents, Wagner College, in the Battle of the Borough in an annual event that serves to support the 30,000 Degrees Initiative. The Initiative is a collaboration between CSI, Wagner College, and St. John’s University to increase the number of Staten Island residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher by 30,000 by the year 2025.

CSI vs WAGNER COLLEGE
Matchup: College of Staten Island (1-2) vs. Wagner College (2-1) 
Where: The Spiro Center – 1 Campus Rd, Staten Island, NY 10301
All-Time Series: Wagner leads 13-3
Last Meeting: December 22, 2016 – Wagner won 94-42
Players to Watch (CSI): Christian Taylor led all scorers in their last outing against Lebanon Valley, scoring 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor. Complementing Taylor has been Darryl Bryant and Adeola Latunji. All three are averaging more than 10 points per game through three games this season with Adeola pacing the way with 17. Taylor has been giving the Dolphins second-chance opportunities with his team-leading 7.7 rebounds per game. Stephen Flagg will look to get in on the mix as well as he is third on the team in minutes per game, averaging 23.  
Players to Watch (WAG): Blake Francis has been outstanding for the Seahawks this season, pouring in 21 points per game while shooting 48% from three-point range. On the boards, the Seahawks are led by Elijah Davis with seven rebounds per game while sitting second on the squad with 9 points per game. JoJo Cooper is the facilitator for Wagner and paces the team with four assists per game.
News & Notes: The Dolphins and Seahawks have squared off the last two seasons with Wagner coming out on top both times.  Previous to those two meetings the teams hadn’t met since 1999.  The last time the Dolphins were able to pick up a win over their Division I opponents was back in 1989 where they won 81-78. After the loss to Wagner last season, the Dolphins would go on to win 16-of-17 games en route to a CUNYAC Championship. Staten Island would ultimately fall in the first round of the NCAA DIII Tournament to Swarthmore College. The Seahawks would finish their season 16-14 with a loss in the NEC Semifinal.