New York, NY | Held to one of their lowest scoring outputs of the season, the College of Staten Island Men's Basketball team struggled in the second half, ultimately falling to Baruch College by a 74-55 count this evening. The loss dipped the Dolphins to 6-11, while Baruch improved to 10-6.
Despite a difficult shooting day for both sides, CSI was up, 26-25, in a low-scoring first half as they entered the locker room, but the Bearcats were the first team to shake off a slow start in the second ultimately pulling away midway through the second half for the lopsided win.
CSI started well, using two
Rigaud Destime baskets to race out to a 4-0 lead, later building to an 8-2 advantage after three minutes on another score by
James Delahanty and a couple of free-throws by
Joseph Zieris. After equaling a six point lead at 12-6 at 14:21, Baruch started to push back, posting a 10-3 run over the next five minutes to take a 16-15 lead on a Jack Reese lay-up at 9:20.
After a pair of
Austin Mick freebies put CSI back up modestly by three, a three-point play the hard way by Jehmehl Fair gave BC a 23-21 edge, before CSI finalized on a 5-2 run in the final 3:42 to take a slim, 26-25, lead at intermission. By the half the teams had combined to shoot just 19-49 from the field (29%).
The sluggish play carried over into the second half, as defense continued to be the highlight, leading to a 31-31 tie at 17:03. From there, however, the game belonged to Baruch. Mired in cold shooting, CSI saw Baruch start to catch some fire and the home side went on a numbing, 13-2 run over the next five minutes to go up by double-digits 44-33, capped by a three-point play by Adnan Bajrami. After two
Adeola Latunji free throws stopped the bleeding, BC went on another 6-0 bender to go up 50-35, before a basket by
Andrew Kartalis for CSI broke up an 0-8 spell by the Dolphins over the previous seven minutes.
CSI would cut the lead to as few as 12 points, the final time at 5:29 on another Kartalis lay-up, but BC reeled off a 10-2 run over the next two minutes to put the game thoroughly out of reach, 64-45, before the home side ultimately finalized with a 74-55 win.
Baruch was led by Bajrami's 21 points, followed by 10 each from George Smyth, Jr., and Michael Richards, who added a team-best seven rebounds. CSI was led by Latunji's 20 points and team-leading six rebounds. No other Dolphin posted in double figures. The Dolphins shot just 38% from the field (19-50) and an anemic 15% from beyond the arc (3-20). Baruch shot 47.4% from the floor (27-57), and held a 34-29 advantage on the glass.
CSI will return to action on Saturday, January 25, when they host John Jay College at The Tank, with tip-off scheduled for 3 PM.
