The College of Staten Island men’s basketball squad is back on the winning side of the ledger after having a recent 10-game win streak snapped, and will look to make it a streak tonight when they take to the road to face York College in an important CUNYAC test and the second of two meetings between the two teams.
CSI VS. YORK COLLEGE AT-A-GLANCE
Matchup: CSI (13-7, 9-2 CUNYAC) vs. York (7-13, 3-8 CUNYAC)
Where: York College Gym – 94-20 Guy R. Brewer Boulevard, Jamaica, NY
Live Video: https://yorkathletics.com/watch/?Live=16&type=Live
All-Time Series: Staten Island leads, 67-23
Last Meeting: January 3, 2019 – CSI won 91-70
Players to Watch (CSI): Junior guard Christian Taylor still paces the Dolphins with a healthy 21.2 points per game average, and he became the 32nd CSI player to eclipse 1,000 points as he now has 1,006 in his career. Taylor is one to watch all over the floor as he also leads CSI with 65 assists and 45 steals. Adeola Latunji has led CSI in scoring over the last three games, and he is now averaging 18.3 points to go with his 8.6 rebounds per game average, which leads the team. Lone senior Stephen Flagg is at 11.6 points per game after missing CSI’s first eight games. The Dolphins got a strong debut from newcomer Joseph Zieris, who scored 11 points against Medgar Evers on Saturday in his CSI debut in just 16 minutes of work. Look for Rigaud Destime to be an x-factor today. He scored 11 points and pulled in seven rebounds in CSI’s win over York earlier this season, on January 3.
Players to Watch (YC): The Cardinals are getting solid production from a handful of players on their roster and they’d like to see that continue this evening. Darin Dove leads the way with 15.3 markers per game and has a heavy-handed 53 three-point baskets this season. He also leads the team with 5.3 rebounds per game and seven blocked shots on the defensive side. Taishaun Forehand-Jenkins is next in line with 14.2 points per game and he is the main distributor, with 77 assists this season. Look for Devine Chisolm and Maliqe John to also weigh in. Chisolm is averaging 9.6 points per game, with 63 assists and a team-best 22 steals, while John is averaging 8.5 per with a solid 5.1 rebounds per game. Look for Jonathan Jones to perhaps play a role. He scored eight points and five rebounds in the teams’ last meeting.
News & Notes: CSI has had their way with the Cardinals in recent memory, having now won 15 of the last 16 meetings dating back to 2011. That run now includes an eight-game winning streak at York College. The Cardinals last defeated the Dolphins on their home floor back in February of 2010, a 102-61 win, to date York’s highest scoring game ever over the Dolphins. CSI otherwise is 28-10 all-time at York and are hoping to move a win streak over York to eight games with a win today. In their first meeting of the season on Staten Island earlier this month, Taylor led the way for CSI with 26 points and CSI led wire-to-wire in what was their third biggest win of the season. CSI is 6-3 on the road this season, but were defeated in their last road contest (against John Jay College), breaking up a five-game road winning streak they were on. York is 4-6 at home this season, and are coming off of a big, 89-79, road win over Lehman College. In their last home contest, York was defeated by Brooklyn, 88-62. Tonight’s game can go a long way in playoff positioning. The top six teams make the CUNYAC playoffs, and right now York is on the outside looking in with a 3-8 record, trailing Lehman by a full game in the standings. The top two seeds in the conference get a first-round bye, and right now CSi is sitting in second place with a 9-2 record. A win will keep them a half of a game behind conference-leading Baruch, but a loss may surrender their 1.5 game lead over Brooklyn, who sit in third place.
