The College of Staten Island men’s basketball team is now on a three-game win streak, all against CUNYAC opponents, and now they will travel to face NCAA Division I Wagner College a few miles away in Sunnyside, Staten Island. The Dolphins are facing a 3-6 Seahawks team still looking for its first home win.
CSI vs. WAGNER COLLEGE AT-A-GLANCE
Matchup: CSI (5-4 overall, 3-0 CUNYAC) vs. Wagner College (3-6 Overall, 0-0 NEC)
Where: Spiro Sports Center – One Campus Road, Staten Island, NY
Tip-Off: 7:00 pm
Ticket Info: http://wagner.universitytickets.com/user_pages/event_listings.asp
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/wagner/mbball/
Live Video: http://necfrontrow.com/webcast.php/WC-3889/
All-Time Series: Wagner leads, 12-3
Last Meeting: Nov. 28, 2016 – Wagner won 83-59
Players To Watch (CSI): Frank Schettino has been the go-to-guy for CSI and he leads the way with 16.8 points per game with a team best 68 assists. He is followed by fellow senior Khaleeq Baum, who is pouring in 13.3 per game along with a team-best 7.3 rebounds per contest. Kevon Murphy has picked up his offensive game, as he is now averaging 11.1 per contest. Edin Bracic is averaging 10.1 per contest, and scored 12 points the last time these two teams paired up a year ago. Senior guard Vincent Dacunto has been activated to the roster and could see action tonight as well.
Players To Watch (WC): The Seahawks have three players averaging in double-digits going into tonight’s contest, but leader Romone Saunders has been on the shelf since a season-opening 15 point performance against UConn. From there Corey Henson is the leader with 13.9 points per game, and is the team’s most potent three-point shooter. Michael Carey is next in line with 11.6 per game, leading the team in the rebounding column at 8.1 per clip. JoJo Cooper has been a back court playmaker thus far with 36 assists
News & Notes: After a 16 year lay-off the Staten Island rivalry was renewed last year, and after CSI took a modest two point lead in the second half, it was all Wagner in the final 15 minutes as they cruised for an 83-59 win. The Seahawks own a 12-3 series lead and have won the last four in the series. The Dolphins’ last win came in 1988-89, a 61-58 victory at the Spiro Center. Tonight marks the 14th occasion that the game will be played at Wagner. Next year, the game is slated to be played at CSI, where the Dolphins are just 1-1 all-time against the Seahawks. The Dolphins are coming in winners of three-straight, getting over the .500 mark, now sitting at 5-4 overall. Wagner recently broke a three-game skid with a road win at Morgan State, 68-66, but the suffered a setback against Providence College on Sunday, 76-54 in their last outing, and the Seahawks have now lost five of seven heading into this game. Wagner is also looking for their first home win of the year, as they are 0-3 at Spiro this year. The Seahawks have dropped four in a row dating back to last year at Spiro, but were a solid 13-4 on home turf a year ago overall. The Dolphins are just 2-4 away from the Sports & Recreation Center, having started the season 0-4 on the road. The Dolphins are ranked 89th in the country among DIII schools with a 46.9 field goal percentage, this despite shooting just 31% as a team from behind the arc. Wagner has struggled, shooting just 41% as a team, 300th among 347 DI schools. Still, the Seahawks have been sensational creating second-chance points and are ranked 12th in Division I with just under 15 offensive rebounds per game.
