The College of Staten Island men’s basketball squad used a late first half run that extended through the second period to open up what was otherwise a close contest, to score a lop-sided, 95-73, win over St. Joseph’s College (Brooklyn) in non-conference action played at Brooklyn Technical High School.  The win, CSI’s 18th-straight, ran the Dolphins’ record to 19-2 overall, while the Bears fell to 15-9.

Despite the final score and the fact that the Dolphins led by as many as 32 points in the game, the game’s first half, which featured wide-open play on both sides, was as close as can be.  The teams traded the lead on seven occasions in the first half, trading baskets and at times, frustrating turnovers.  SJC grabbed their first lead on a three-pointer by David Ortiz, making the score 7-6 before CSI countered right back with a Matt Van Manen lay-up at the 16:40 mark.

CSI led by as many as four points before the Bears came back again to take another pair of leads, the second coming at 7:51 via a David Louison jumper to make the score 27-26.  The frustrated Dolphins would turn the ball over three times after that, sandwiched between a missed dunk attempt by Bloochy Magloire, but on each occasion, the Bears could not capitalize the other way, leaving the door open for the Dolphins, who would finally make good.

Will Fonseca started with a driving lay-up, and after the team’s traded a pair of points, consecutive jumpers by Jonathan Chadwick-Myers and Van Manen got CSI started on what would be an 18-3 run to close the first half’s final 5:36.  CSI amped up the defense holding St. Joe’s to just 1-8 shooting with three turnovers in the stretch.  Meanwhile, Fonseca stole the show with another trio of inside lay-ups to charge CSI.  At intermission, CSI led 48-32.

Much like the first half, the game’s second stanza initiated with back-and-forth play.  The Bears held a 10-7 scoring edge over the first five minutes, using an Ervin Maddox jumper to cut the CSI lead to as few as 13, 55-42, with 14:55 left.  

From there, however, CSI took over.

Magloire swished a three-pointer, part of three on the night for the senior, igniting a 15-3 CSI run over the next three minutes to give the visiting Dolphins a more commanding 70-45 lead with 12:09 to go.  Later in the stanza, CSI would catch fire by hitting five shots in a row, aiding an 11-2 run that was ended with a tomahawk dunk by Will Fonseca that gave CSI its biggest lead, 87-55, with 7:16 to go.  The only thing in doubt from there was the final score, as CSI had completely seized momentum.

The Bears had room for a final push, closing on an 11-3 run of their own in the final minutes to make the final score 95-73.

The hot-shooting Dolphins connected on 58.8% from the floor, going 5-9 from beyond the arc.  In return the Dolphins held the Bears to just 37.2% shooting, as the team shot just 5-20 from downtown.  CSI held a hefty 50-36 edge in points in the paint, thanks largely to Will Fonseca’s 24-point, 9-rebound performance.  Chadwick-Myers did most of the outside damage with 20 points with eight rebounds, while Magloire poured in 23 points and four steals.  CSI assist leader Frankie Schettino scattered eight helpers.  For the Bears, the team was led by David Louison’s 21 points and 10 rebounds while Michael Megafu added 17 points and 9 rebounds.

The win for CSI was their 18th-straight, one shy of their all-time program record of 19-straight accomplished by the 2011-12 unit.  The Dolphins raised their all-time record against the Bears to 10-2 in what was the team’s final non-conference regular season game.

Up next for CSI will be the first of four remaining CUNYAC contests as the team travels to John Jay College on Saturday for a 5pm tilt against the Bloodhounds.