The College of Staten Island men’s basketball squad got into the winning side of the ledger this past week with a big win over John Jay College, and they will look to ride the momentum today when they tangle with Brooklyn College at 1:00pm at the Sports & Recreation Center. The game will proceed the CSI Men’s Basketball Alumni Game, celebrating its sixth year in honor of late assistant coach Matty White. The game figures to be a big one in the standings for both teams. Brooklyn has a one game lead over the Dolphins having won the early season meeting at Brooklyn.
CSI vs. BROOKLYN COLLEGE AT-A-GLANCE
Matchup: CSI (14-5 overall, 7-3 CUNYAC) vs. Brooklyn College (16-3 Overall, 9-2 CUNYAC)
Where: Sports & Recreation Center – 2800 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island, NY
Ticket Info: $5 General Admission / Free – CSI Students, Faculty & Staff
Tip-Off: 1:00pm
Live Video: http://www.csidolphins.com/CSISportsNet
Promotional Info: One fan picked at random will have a chance to win $5,000 in a halftime promotion
All-Time Series: CSI leads 38-15
Last Meeting:: Brooklyn defeated CSI, 73-70
Players To Watch (CSI): CSI junior Frank Schettino is coming off of one of his best outings of the season this past week against John Jay, posting 28 points and seven assists, and is chasing history today, as he is 17 points shy of 1,000 for his career. The junior is also 64 assists away from breaking the CSI all-time record in that department, held by Fred Marinacchio (1987-91). He was held scoreless in just 12 minutes played the last time these two teams played. Will Fonseca continues to lead CSI, averaging 23.2 points and 9.6 rebounds per contest, and the last time these two teams tangles, Fonseca was dominating in a 32-point performance.
Players To Watch (BC): CUNYAC Player of the Year candidate Egzon Gjonbalaj has had a dominating season, averaging 23.1 points per game for the high-scoring Bulldogs, adding 10.4 rebounds per contest. Lorenzo Williams was a tremendous force the last time these two teams played and he is among the team’s leaders at 18.3 points per game. Followed by Jamel Gist’s 16.4 markers.
News and Notes: This has been a back-and-forth series as Brooklyn has now won two out of the last three games against the schools. CSI, however, has countered by winning the last four games played at the Sports & Recreation Center, dating back to 2011. The games have been tight in recent times, with three of the last four meetings decided by four points or less. Both teams shoot the ball very well from the floor, making field goal defense important in this game. BC is 8-1 when shooting 50% or better, and are 7-0 when shooting 37% or better from beyond the arc. Similarly, CSI is 7-0 when they shoot over 50% and are 10-1 when connecting on over 37% from beyond the arc. CSI has struggled at times from the free throw line and it has showed on the scoreboard, as CSI has gone just 2-3 in games when they shoot 63% or less from the stripe. CSI is 8-1 this season when scoring 80 or more points in the game, their only loss coming on a buzzer-beater against Hunter. Brooklyn is the highest scoring team in CUNY. They are 9-0 when scoring 90+ in games, but when they’ve struggled defensively, they have suffered, as evidenced by their 4-3 record when allowing 80 or more.
