The College of Staten Island avoided a second-half John Jay College surge and senior guard Frank Schettino logged his second triple-double of the season, as the Dolphins swept the season series with the Bloodhounds via an 84-67 win as part of CUNYAC play in Manhattan. The Dolphins improved to 12-6 overall and a perfect 9-0 in the CUNYAC, while the Bloodhounds now stand at 4-12, 3-6, respectively. Schettino who recorded his first career triple-double earlier this month, became the first NCAA Division III basketball player this year to do it twice, recording 17 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists.
Despite the lop-sided final score, the Dolphins did have their hands full in the second half this contest, seeing a 16-point second half lead dwindle down to just three before a late surge catapulted the team ahead for good. In the game’s first half, Schettino once again started hot, posting four assists in the first five minutes as CSI raced out to a 9-0 run to take a 14-6 lead in the early stages. Edin Bracic and Vincent Dacunto net three-pointers in the run, and from there, CSI never trailed again. A jumper by Schettino with just under 12 minutes to play in the first half gave CSI their first double-digit lead at 21-10, and CSI never led by less than eight the rest of the half.
CSI took their biggest lead of the frame on a Bracic lay-up with 2:02 to play, making it 39-22, and after JJC surged to cut the lead to 13 on a three by Luciano Cruz-Fernandez, Bracic responded with a buzzer-beating three of his own to give CSI a 46-30 halftime edge.
When these two teams met earlier in the season at the Sports & Recreation Center, the Dolphins led by as many as 14 before JJC came back to tie in the waning moments and things seemed eerily similar tonight. First, the Dolphins took a game-high 18 point lead early on, but methodically JJC cut into the lead. Aided by CSI foul trouble, the Bloodhounds shot very well from the charity stripe and then another Cruz-Fernandez three cut the CSI lead to 51-41 with 14:42 to go.
Later, with just over 12 minutes to plat, the Bloodhounds struck a 10-0 run to cut CSI’s lead to just three, 56-53, highlighted by seven MiKing Richardson points, including a three-point play. Needing a lift, CSI stayed the course and newcomer Darryl Bryant canned a short jumper and then after a JJC miss and Khaleeq Baum lay-up, Bryant added a three to put CSI back up by 10. John Jay’s shooting cooled considerably from there and even though CSI’s Jade Spencer and Bryant would foul out, CSI was able to rest comfortable in the final minutes, never leading by less than 13 in the final five minutes.
Schettino and Bracic shared the point scoring lead with 17 points apiece. Baum recorded 15 points, while Bryant had his finest game as a Dolphin with 15 points on 6-8 shooting from the floor. Richardson led JJC with 22 points and five assists while Essien Epps finished with 15 points and a team-high 9 rebounds.
The Dolphins’ six game win streak is their longest of the season, and they will look to stay hot on the road, when they travel to CCNY on Friday evening for another CUNYAC contest at 7pm.
