The College of Staten Island men’s basketball team will be back on the hardwood less than 48 hours after their season opener, as they travel to Annville, Pennsylvania, to take part in the Rinso Marquette Tip-Off Tournament at Lebanon Valley College tonight and tomorrow. CSI will open with a neutral-site contest, taking on the Bears of Ursinus College at 6pm. Following that game, Lebanon Valley will play host to the College of New Rochelle. The two winning teams will meet in tomorrow’s championship game at 3pm, while the losing sides will meet in the Consolation contest at 1pm.
CSI vs URSINUS COLLEGE
Matchup: CSI (0-1) vs. Ursinus College (0-0)
Where: Sorrentino Gymnasium – 101 North College Avenue, Annville, PA
All-Time Series: CSI leads 3-1
Last Meeting: November 17, 2012 – CSI won, 61-60
Players to Watch (CSI): On a day where they were without starters Edin Bracic and Robert Rossiter, CSI was led by freshman Adeola Latunji’s 17 points in a loss to Yeshiva on Wednesday. Sophomore Christian Taylor will also be looked out to steady the team, as he boasted 12 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, adding five assists in the game. James Delahanty earned his first career start and boasted four points and four rebounds in an abbreviated 16 minutes. Look for Jade Spencer and Rudy Lavanture to log significant minutes. Both came off the bench to combine for 19 points on 6-8 shooting against Yeshiva in the opener.
Players to Watch (UC): Tonight is the season-opener for the Bears, and they were predicted to finish fourth in the Centennial Conference’s preseason poll. Seniors Brian Rafferty and Remi Janicot are expected to lead the way for the Bears this season, leading an experienced group. Look for All-CC selections Zach Quattro and Eric Williams, Jr. to also be key cogs for Ursinus. Quattro was the team’s leader with a 44.4% clip from beyond the arc, so look for him to shoot from long range. Williams averaged 12.6 points per game a year ago and was similarly deadly from the outside, shooting the three at over 42%. Rafferty is a dynamic distributor who has amassed 338 career assists, good for 6th all-time in school history.
News & Notes: Tonight marks the third time that these two teams are meeting as part of a season-opening tournament. The last meeting was under similar circumstances, with CSI taking a 61-60 win at this same tournament back in 2012. The two teams had also met two years before for a tip-off At the Wesleyan University tip-off in Middletown, CT. In the 2010 contest, a 71-64 win by CSI, current CSI Head Coach scored 23 points to lead the Dolphins in the game. The first meeting in the series came way back in 1982, a CSI win, and the two teams hadn’t met until the 2000-01 season, a 74-61 win by Ursinus on their home floor, so the Bears tonight will be looking for their first win over CSI in 17 seasons. Ursinus is going to try to use its size and its ability to crash the boards to its advantage tonight. The Bears were ranked 51st in the nation last year in rebound margin (+5.1). CSI was equally good in that department a year ago, and did out-rebound Yeshiva on Wednesday, 46-42, but do give up some size to the Bears.
