The College of Staten Island men’s basketball squad made it five wins in a row, striking down the visiting Cougars of Kean University, 75-54, at the Sports & Recreation Center as part of non-conference play. CSI lengthened their overall record to 12-4 overall, while the Cougars fell to 3-15.
The Dolphins led from start to finish, opening up an 11-0 lead after four minutes of play on five straight baskets by sophomore Bloochy Magloire, part of 19 points for him in the initial stanza. After Kean responded and cut the lead to eight points at 13:11, CSI rattled off another 12-5 run, aided by back-to-back three’s from T.J. Tibbs and Dale Taranto and inside layups by Jordan Young and Dylan Bulger. An Anthony Gibson jumper for the visitors cut CSI’s lead to 26-13, but the Dolphins ended the frame on a 9-0 run over the final 4:48, going into the locker room with a commanding 35-13 edge.
A 13-4 run over the first 6+ minutes of the second half gave CSI their biggest lead of the afternoon, 48-17, accentuated by a Javon Cox three-point play and another long ball by Magloire, who finished with 31 markers. From there, Kean tried in vain to fight back, and went on the heavy offensive thanks to a great stretch from Andrew Kirey who rattled in 13 points in a three-minute stretch to help cut the CSI lead to as few as 17, 68-51, with under four minutes to play. CSI, however, weathered the storm, thanks largely to solid contribution from reserves Herschel Jenkins and Kevin King, who combined for 10 points and five rebounds down the stretch.
CSI shot a crisp 45.7% (21-46), holding Kean to just a 17-of-53 (32.1%) clip from the field. Magloire’s 31 points led all scorers, as CSI also got 11 points from Young. Javon Cox led CSI in rebounds with six, while Taranto posted seven assists. Kirey would finish with 24 points for the Cougars, adding six rebounds. Michael Burton also hit double-figures with 13 tallies.
CSI gets back to action on Wednesday, January 18. The teak takes on City College of New York at 5:30pm. It will be a part of a doubleheader on Wednesday as the women, who were idle today, will face the Beavers at 7:30pm.
