Staten Island, NY | The College of Staten Island men’s basketball team dropped their third-straight conference game on their home floor, this time falling to visiting Medgar Evers College by an 83-77 count at The Tank. The Dolphins dropped to 11-10 overall and 9-4 in the CUNYAC, while the Cougars left Staten Island with 6-14, 4-8, records, respectively.
CSI’s Robert Rossiter canned a three-pointer to open the game, but after that it was all MEC in the first half, as they took full advantage of an ice-cold shooting performance by the Dolphins in the first half. A Basheeru Camara lay-up for the Cougars gave MEC their first lead at 5-3, and almost 10 minutes later, the lead was nursed up to double-digits, 21-10 when Jafet Thomas and Darrell Spaulding converted on a pair of back-to-back lay-ups with 8:30 to go in the opening frame.
The Dolphins would finish with only nine more points in the half, mired in a 6-for-36 clip from the field (16.2%). After a Christian Taylor drive cut MEC’s lead to 27-17 with 4:24 to go, the Cougars responded with a 9-2 run to end the stanza, as Maurice Swaby added a pair of free-throws and a three-pointer in the clip.
CSI needed the locker room break, and the team did muster up a nice response in the second half. Two three’s by Taylor and Edin Bracic and a lay-in by Rossiter cut the lead to 40-31 just 3:30 into the stanza, and later, CSi would use a 7-0 spurt to cut the lead to 46-42 with 10:42 to go, again fueled by a Rossiter three and Taylor lay-up. CSI, however, would go cold again, connecting on just one field goal over the next four minutes, watching the visitors answer back with a 12-5 run of their own.
Back up by double-digits, the Cougars worked the clock and kept pushing inside for baskets and trips to the free-throw line. In a feverish attempt to come back, CSI cut the lead to just nine, 66-57 with 2:48 left, but MEC connected on their next three shots from the field and their next six free-throws to slam the door, going up by as many as 15, the final time with 1:40 to play.
Refusing to quit, CSI added 15 points in the final 90 seconds, but by then MEC had the game well in hand and left The Tank with an 83-77 win, evening the season series at one game apiece.
CSI finished 28-81 from the floor (34.6%), taking 30 more shots that the Cougars who also connected on 28 from the field, good for a 54.9% clip. CSi was 8-27 from three-point range as well, managing to win the turnover battle, 18-15, and the rebounding battle, 44-40. Taylor led the Dolphins with 27 points on 12-18 shooting, followed by Rossiter, who turned in 14 points and 10 rebounds. MEC was powered by Justin Sutton’s 21 markers adding seven rebounds. Jafet finished with 15 points and 10 caroms for a double-double as well.
The loss dropped CSI to just 3-4 in conference home games (4-7 overall), while the team is a perfect 6-0 on the road against the conference. The Dolphins will next have a non-conference matchup slated for Saturday, when they travel for a date with Cabrini College as part of the CUNYAC-CSAC Challenge, pitting all CUNYAC schools against those in the CSAC.
GAME VIDEO
