On a cold and blustery night this past Thursday the College of Staten Island’s Intramural and Recreation Program hosted its 5th annual Students vs. Faculty/Staff Basketball Game. One of the most popular of the SvsFS events saw a large crowd on hand and witnessed a record breaking number of participants. The game was a back and forth affair which inevitably saw Faculty/Staff’s 10 point fourth quarter lead evaporate; contributing to the improbable 56-51 comeback win for the Students. The big win marks the first for the Students in the last three years, ending the dominance of the Faculty/Staff.
Right from the tip, the Students jumped out to a lighting fast start with back-to-back triples by Christian Dominguez and Lolade Fakorode. After the quick start by the Students, play leveled off and each team began trading baskets. The quarter ended with the Faculty/Staff in an eight point hole down 14-6. The second quarter was dominated by Faculty/Staff thanks to key plays from Building Supervisors’ Jordan Young and Rob Mesjasz. The deficit was narrowed to two as the Students took the lead into the half, 25-23.
Upon the commencement of the third quarter Faculty/Staff continued their hot play. Consecutive baskets by Young, Intramural Coordinator Sal Caruso, and OIT College Assistant Thomas Carfagna allowed for the Faculty/Staff to start pulling away. Upon the conclusion of the third quarter Faculty/Staff had turned their two point half time deficit into a ten point advantage on the scoreboard, 41-31.
Whether it was fatigue or the feeling as if the game was in hand Faculty/Staff looked sluggish to start the fourth. Alan Alakhveryan and Lolade Fakorode came out firing for the Students and within several minutes the game was knotted at 47 apiece. Back-to-back buckets for the Faculty/Staff courtesy of Academic Advisement’s Michael Meyer saw them regain a four point advantage. However, the lead was short lived as the Students again stormed back into the lead capitalizing off a couple of critical turnovers. After it was all said and done and the final buzzer sounded and the Students had clawed all the way back and expressed their jubilation in their 56-51 comeback win.
The Students had a well balanced attack seeing four players each collect at least eight points while Faculty/Staff was led by Young’s 15 points and Mesjasz’s 10 points. The next Students vs. Faculty/Staff Game will be a Flag Football contest which will be held on Friday, April 4th starting at 12:30pm. Don’t forget to register and if you have any questions or are interested don’t hesitate to email intramurals@csi.cuny.edu for any additional information.
