New York, NY |  Benjamin Boateng's jumper from the elbow with 0.2 seconds left was the clincher, giving top-seeded Baruch College a thrilling, 76-74, win over No. 2 College of Staten Island in the CUNYAC Postseason Tournament Championship played this evening at the Hunter College Sportsplex in Manhattan.  The heartbreaking loss for the Dolphins ends their season with a record of 17-10, while the Bearcats (22-5) have advanced to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament.

Looking to take the season series against Baruch College and secure their third consecutive CUNYAC title, CSI had sizable leads for most of the first half before a buzzer-beating three by Andre Harris gave Baruch a 37-34 edge at the break.  History would then repeat itself at the end of regulation as well, as Boateng's jumper came after a well-contested three from CSI's Christian Taylor tied the game at 74-74 with just 4.1 seconds remaining.  The feverish end dictated a veritable CUNYAC classic that featured seven ties and nine lead changes, many of those in the final minutes.

Just as he did in CSI's semifinal win over John Jay College, CSI's Rigaud Destime got things started for the Dolphins offensively. Attacking the rim aggressively, Destime finished through contact, drawing a foul and adding one more from the free throw line in the opening stages. With CSI leading 10-7, Destime's hot shooting continued as he connected on consecutive shots from the outside, one deep two-pointer and a three. Following a Bearcats free throw to make the score 15-8, Andrew Kartalis added a second consecutive Dolphins three to increase the team's lead to double digits, 18-8, CSI's biggest lead of the opening stanza at 14:05.

The lead was short-lived as Baruch's Andre Harris immediately responded with a three of his own. Harris quickly made it five-straight points connecting on a mid-range jumper off of a Dolphins turnover. Bryler Paige then extended the Bearcats run to 7-0 before another bucket by Harris in transition made it a 9-0 run for Baruch, cutting the deficit to one, 18-17.

Despite ending the Bearcats run following a timeout, the Dolphins still had no answer for Harris who came back the other way and hit another jumper. Baruch finally drew even at 22-22 on a William Sixsmith layup, and from there, Baruch would go on to take the lead from the free throw line on a pair of makes by Boateng.

Needing a lift after a sizable scoring drought, Chamald Martin answered the call with a score in the low post. CSI then went back in front on another Riguad Destime shot from beyond the arc, giving him 12 points. Destime went on to make it five straight turning a broken play into two more points off of a Chamald Martin feed.
  Trailing by five, 29-24, Baruch once again turned to Andre Harris who snapped the 7-0 Dolphins run with a turnaround jumper from the free throw line. The Bearcats then drew even on a Jack Sixsmith three before Chamald Martin battled inside to give CSI the lead back on a tip-in. A Harris free throw and four consecutive points inside gave Baruch a 34-31 lead inside of 1:30 to play in the first half before Stephen Flagg connected from the corner to even up the score at 34. That set the stage for Harris's buzzer-beater, as the senior connected on a tough leaning three from the corner giving him a game-high 17 and putting Baruch in front 37-34 at halftime.

The teams then pawed back and forth in the opening stages of the second half, with neither side making an impactful run enough to put distance between the sides. With the Dolphins trailing 41-40, the scoring halted for  two minutes before the silence was broken by a Joseph Zecchino three-pointer before Chamald Martin continued his strong second half with another finish in traffic underneath. Christian Taylor then got on the board for the first time in the second half with a jumper before Zecchino put Baruch ahead on a putback. The Bearcats didn't hold the lead long as Rigaud Destime connected on his fourth shot from long range to give CSI the lead right back.

Following a timeout and some more back-and-forth play, the two teams found themselves tied at 47-47. This tie was emphatically broken by an Adeola Latunji two-handed slam off of a steal, sending the Dolphins' faithful on hand into a frenzy. The excitement on the CSI side didn't last long as Bryler Paige finished through contact, drew the foul, and added one more from the line, setting the stage for the two heavyweights to grab the lead from the other. Even at 52, it was once again a three-pointer putting the Dolphins in front as Destime connected on his fifth from long range, the team's eighth. A Latunji layup then increased the CSI lead to five prompting a Baruch timeout to slow the Dolphins' momentum.

Out of the timeout, Baruch quickly scored the first two points before getting even on a Sixsmith three-pointer from well beyond the arc. With the Baruch fans energized and the Dolphins' lead gone, CSI was struggling for offense. Boateng gave the Bearcats the lead on a tip-in which was followed by a Dolphins turnover. After the Bearcats missed the opportunity to go up two possessions, Joseph Zieris got the Dolphins even again, finishing through heavy traffic inside.

The finish by Zieris was followed by a Dolphins timeout after which Boateng converted on back-to-back attempts down low. Baruch then extended their lead to five, tying their largest of the game, on a basket by Sixsmith. This time it was Kartalis who had the answer for the Dolphins converting on an acrobatic layup to bring CSI back within three.

After another timeout called by the Dolphins, Boateng looked to go right at Latunji, who had four personal fouls, but instead was charged with an offensive foul of his own. Another big finish at the rim by Zieris brought the Dolphins back within one before Taylor converted on one of two attempts from the line to even the score at 65 soon after.

A three-point play by Harris followed, but Zieris once again came up huge for the Dolphins in response, scoring another tough basket inside to bring the Dolphins within a point. At the other end of the floor, Harris took the ball into the teeth of the Dolphins' defense once again, finishing through the contact, and earning another trip to the line in the process. This time Harris couldn't convert from the line and CSI once again turned to Zieris at the offensive end. Zieris drew contact inside sending him to the line for two shots. After missing the first, Zieris made the second, making the score 70-68 in favor of Baruch with just 1:47 left on the clock.

The Dolphins would come up with a key stop at the defensive end, setting the stage for a Chamald Martin offensive rebound and put back through a foul. With the Sportsplex roaring, Martin hit the free throw to put CSI back up one, 71-70.  Unfortunately for the Dolphins, however, the lead with 55 seconds remaining was their last of the game.  The Bearcats would look to isolate Harris once again on the ensuing possession, and he was able to draw the foul against Martin. At the line for two, Harris knocked down the clutch free throws and put his team back up one. The Dolphins would look to get the ball into the hands of CUNYAC Player of the Year Taylor, but the Bearcats engulfed Taylor in a double-team on the entry pass coming away with the steal with 34 seconds to go.

Following the turnover, CSI called timeout setting up a Baruch inbound from the sideline. The Dolphins would overwhelm the Bearcats with a full-court press following the inbound, coming away with the steal. With the shot clock off and a chance to essentially win the game on the final shot, the Dolphins would turn the ball over once again on a traveling violation with just 14 seconds to play.  Forced to foul, CSI sent Andre Harris to the line for two. Harris hit both free throws to put Baruch up three.

Trailing by three with less than 20 seconds to play, the Dolphins put the ball in the hands of Christian Taylor once again. This time Taylor isolated from the wing and connected on the biggest shot of the Dolphins' season to tie the game from downtown. With the score tied at 74, there were 4.7 seconds remaining on the clock, enough time for the Bearcats to push the ball up the floor for one final shot. Off of the inbound pass, Baruch pushed the ball ahead to Boateng who capped off his strong second half with a buzzer-beating jump shot from the free throw line. With only .2 seconds left and unable to advance to the ball, the Boateng shot ended the Dolphins' season and earned Baruch the CUNYAC championship.

In the defeat, Destime led the Dolphins in scoring for the second consecutive night with 23, setting another career high in points. Martin also had a stellar performance with 13 points and 6 rebounds while Latunji contributed a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. It was Andre Harris who led the way for Baruch offensively scoring 29 points and earning CUNYAC Championship game MVP honors. Though Harris took home the MVP award, Benjamin Boateng also scored a career-high 14 points and grabbed 10 boards on top of hitting the game-winning shot.

With the loss, CSI closes the season at 17-10 while Baruch improves to 21-5 and punches a ticket to the NCAA Division III tournament. The win improved the Bearcats to 2-1 against the Dolphins this year and denies CSI their third consecutive CUNYAC Championship.