Manchester, NH | The College of Staten Island Men's Basketball team fell for the third-straight time to open the season with another road loss, this time to Southern New Hampshire in another contest where the home team shot extremely well from the floor. Boasting a 53.2% clip from the floor, the Penmen improved to 3-0 on the season, as the Dolphins fell to 0-3 for the second-straight season.
The home team led from start to finish in this one, starting with four-straight points from Shawn Montague, the first basket a dunk, to help SNHU to a 14-0 roll to start the game's first 5:36, setting the tone for the rest of the game. All 14 points came in the paint, as the home side exercised some dominance on the interior.
CSI did arise from there, as
Adeola Latunji started a tremendous outing with a dunk and then
Andrew Kartalis canned a three to cut the lead, but after a cold spell, SNHU went on another, 14-2, bender, to take a 31-9 lead, finished off with a Michael Almonacy three, as he would go 5-6 from downtown in the game. Again, CSI had an answer, this time with a 9-2 run of their own, powered by three-straight three's by Latunji, Kartalis and
Joseph Zieris. Still, CSI found themselves in a deep, 38-18, hole at intermission.
With both teams eyeing a strong start to the second half, it was SNHU that delivered, as they went on an 11-3 run to start the frame to get the lead up to 28, capped by another Montague highlight-reel dunk from the baseline. At 14:38,
Rigaud Destime drained a three to again cut the lead to 20, 52-32, but the Dolphins could not sustain the rhythm, and did not score again for over four minutes, allowing the Penmen to boost the lead.
Inside the final 10 minutes the teams pawed back-and-forth, with CSI never getting to within 24 while SNHU boosted the lead to as many as 29. The Penmen would finish the contest on a mini, 7-2 run to ultimately account for their biggest lead of 32 before finishing with a 30-point win, 84-54.
SNHU finished the game shooting 53.2% from the floor (33-62), posting 10 three's in 23 attempts (43.5%). They held a 41-35 edge on the boards, holding CSI to just 34.4% from the field (22-64) and just 8-36 from three-point range (22.2%).
The Penmen were led by Almonacy's 17 markers, while Montague finished a terrific day with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Corry Long added 11 points in the win. Latunji was the clear catalyst for CSI, as he easily led all scorers with 28 points, making it a double-double with 10 rebounds as well. Zieris added seven points while Kartalis and Destime added six apiece.
CSI will look to turn the tide when they face future-ECC opponent New York Tech on Wednesday evening at 7 pm in what will be their home opener at The Tank in Staten Island.
