The College of Staten Island men’s basketball team improved their season-long winning streak to five games and have now won seven of their last eight contests, soaring to a road win over CUNYAC-rival Hunter College this evening in Manhattan, 77-68.  CSI improved to 12-5 overall and 7-2 in CUNYAC play, while the Hawks fell to 6-11, 3-5, respectively.

It was a see-saw battle in the opening minutes between the two sides until CSI made a decisive run in the later stages.  The Dolphins grabbed their first lead at 12:46 via a Michael Tate lay-up, giving CSI a 6-4 lead in the low-scoring start.  After a series of CSI leads and subsequent ties, HC wrestled the lead back on a Lester Amin three that gave the home Hawks an 18-17 edge with 7:36 to go.  That’s when CSI came alive.

A pair of Frank Schettino free-throws got the Dolphins started on what would eventually turn out to be a 14-2 run over the next four minutes.  CSI’s Thomas Delahanty scored the first seven points of the run, with Will Fonseca adding a trio of markers as well.  The Dolphins had an 11-point edge, and later extended to as many as 13, 37-24, on another Delahanty lay-in, and the team was up at half, 39-26.

CSI was up the entire way in the second half with HC having to work feverishly to get back into it.  The Hawks knocked the lead down to six on a Brian Kruger three with inside of 10 minutes to play, but CSI quickly put the threat down via a Tate lay-up and Mohamed Marie three.  With inside of two minutes to play, another Kruger three got the game to within five, 71-66, but Fonseca answered with a big three-point play, and from there, CSI put the game on ice via the foul line.

Fonseca led all scorers with 29 markers on 12-16 shooting, adding 10 rebounds.  Delahanty scored 17 in victory, while Schettino added 12 with seven assists.  CSI shot a blistering 58.3% from the floor, holding Hunter to just 44.4%.  The Hawks were led by Kruger’s 18 points, while Amin added 17.  CSI was a +7 in the turnover column committing only seven total in the game.

?CSI is back in action on Saturday, when they host St. Joseph’s College of Brooklyn for a 1pm start.