The College of Staten Island men’s basketball team went on top early by a large margin, then coasted the rest of the way, scoring a lop-sided, 97-70, decision over visiting City College of New York at the Sports & Recreation Center this afternoon as part of CUNYAC play.  The game was a make-up of a twice snowed-out contest between the two sides.  The Dolphins won for a program-best 21st-straight time, improving to 22-2 overall and 15-0 in the CUNYAC, while the Beavers fell to 7-17, 3-12, respectively.

It was all Dolphins in the first half, as CSI shot a blistering 57.6% in the first frame, holding the Beavers to just 23.1% on the opposite end, building up would be a monstrous, 51-22, halftime advantage.  CSI senior Jonathan Chadwick-Myers was the early catalyst, scoring CSI’s first 9 points, all from behind the arc as CSI raced to an early, 11-3, advantage.  

After a Brandon Reeves jumper cut CSI’s lead to 15-10 with 12:20 to go in the frame, CSI used a decisive 13-0 run over the next 3:40, to take a commanding 28-10 edge.  The run was highlighted by six Frankie Schettino points and a pair of Will Fonseca baskets.  CSI continued to pound away as baskets by senior Bloochy Magloire helped CSI expand the lead.  The Dolphins held CCNY scoreless for the final 2:21 of the stanza, and four more points by Magloire gave CSI their biggest lead at the break, 29 points.  To that point the Dolphins also dominated via the turnover, outscoring CCNY 19-2 off of turnovers.

In a rather uneventful second half, the teams relied more on trading baskets on each end.  The Dolphins continued to shoot well, connecting on 18-of-31 second half attempts, good for a 58% clip.  CSI answered with a much-improved 42.5% performance, however, the visitors failed to gain significant ground.  A Javon Cox lay-up blossomed CSI’s lead to 63-29 at the 14:59 mark, and later Dylan Bulger gave CSI their biggest lead, 75-38, with 10:23 to go.  From there, CCNY could only knock the CSI lead down to as few as 27, the same as the final score, 97-70.

CSI’s Chadwick-Myers and Fonseca finished with a team-high 18 points, with Fonseca earning a team-best 9 rebounds.  Freshman Frankie Schettino finished with 12 assists for the fourth time this season, good for the fourth-highest single game total in CSI history.  Magloire finished with 11 markers.  For the Beavers, Lareik Taylor came off of the bench to lead the team with 16 points, while Manfred Cadet tallied 13.  CSI held a modest edge in rebounds, 42-40.

The two teams will meet again in less than a week as part of the CUNYAC postseason.  The Dolphins are locked into the No. 1 position, while the Beavers are locked into the No. 8 position.  The CUNYAC Quarterfinals will commence on Saturday, February 22.  A tentative start-time for the game will be 1:00pm.  CSI has won 10-straight over CCNY.  They swept the season series this year, having taken a 74-51 decision in Manhattan earlier this month.

CSI will finalize its regular season on Tuesday night, when they host Medgar Evers College at 7:30pm.  It will also serve as Senior Night for the team, and the team will honor its six seniors prior to tip-off.