Led by the high-scoring tandem of junior forward Will Fonseca and junior guard Frank Schettino who poured in 31 and 30 points, respectively, the College of Staten Island men’s basketball team earned an 87-74 victory over non-conference rival Montclair State University at the Sports & Recreation Center this afternoon.  In recording their second straight win, the Dolphins improved their record at 3-2 on the year while the Red Hawks fell to the same record.
 
CSI got off to a solid start this afternoon and led 21-11 midway through the first half with eight of those points coming from Fonseca. The Dolphins were on top by a 30-21 count with 6:39 left in the half following a Fonseca free throw, and led 38-31 following a Schettino layup. The visitors from New Jersey then closed the half with an 8-2 spurt in narrowing the deficit to just one point at 40-39 at halftime.
 
The Red Hawks took their first lead since the early going when Jarrett Bogus drained a three-pointer 19 seconds into the second half to put Montclair State in front, 42-40. MSU took its final lead of the game on a pair of free throws by Kevin McGorry at the 19:14 mark that made it 44-42.
 
Four quick points by the Dolphins on a Fonseca jumper, followed by a Schettino layup, gave CSI a 46-44 lead with 18:17 left to play. Another three-point jumper by Bogus at 15:43 mark forged the game’s final tie at 53-53. CSI responded with a 12-2 run over the next 4:01, with Fonseca scoring the final 11 points, capping the spurt with a three-pointer at 11:42 that opened a 65-55 lead.
 
The Red Hawks, however, would not go away and when McGorry hit a layup off of a feed from Lavrone Green at the 4:20 mark, Montclair State was to within three points at 77-74.  The Dolphins, however, countered with a decisive 10-0 run over the next 3:11, capped by a Schettino jumper with 1:09 left to make it 87-74 as these proved to be the final points of the game.
 
Buoyed by torrid 65.4% shooting in the second half, the Dolphins ended up at 55.2% shooting for the game, while limiting the Red Hawks to 33.3% accuracy from the field. CSI was also efficient with the ball throughout, turning it over just 12 times while being credited with 16 assists.
 
Schettino was the game’s top playmaker, finishing with a game-high nine assists, while shooting 11-of-18 from the field, en route to his 30-point game. Fonseca’s 31-point outburst, which came on the heels of his 36-point performance in Tuesday night’s win over Hunter College, was 12-of-21 from the field, finishing with a double-double as he pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds. Fonseca also blocked five shots during a route-going performance.
 
Khari Rollock, Edin Bracic and Vincent Dacunto chipped in with six points apiece for CSI. Green paced Montclair State with 19 points hile Bogus and McGorry tallied 15 and 10 points, respectively. A big factor in the Red Hawks staying close in this one most of the way was their 86% shooting from the free throw line as MSU hit 25-of-29 from the charity stripe.
 
CSI is next in action on Tuesday, December 9 when the Dolphins return to CUNYAC play by hosting Baruch College in a 7:30 pm tip.