Staten Island, NY | The College of Staten Island Men's Basketball team avenged an early season loss at the hands of York College with a decisive, 82-49, win at The Tank, their second-straight after three-straight losses. CSI lifted to an 8-13 overall record, while York fell to 7-14.
In a tremendous defensive performance, the Dolphins forced 20 first-half turnovers to take a 15-point lead into the locker room that they built on throughout the second half in the lopsided win.
Two quick baskets by the Cardinals opened the game and prompted a CSI timeout and from there, CSI chipped away until forcing a 6-6 tie a little less than five minutes in. York's Akil Vaughn would respond with a lay-in, but it would prove to be York's final lead in the game.
Adeola Latunji answered with a CSI jumper, and then another to take the lead, and CSI never tralied from there. A 9-2 run would then follow, highlighted by an
Andrew Kartalis jumper that helped CSI to a bigger, 19-12, advantage at 10:17.
CSI used their press to force plenty of York miscues, and those errors led directly to points as CSI continued to expand the advantage. Vaughn would answer for York with a dunk to cut the deficit to 29-25, but CSI responded, going on a 13-2 run to close the half in the final 5:06. CSI did not allow a York field goal in the run and forced seven Cardinals turnovers in the run, as
Austin Mick and Kartalis added threes, and Rigaud Destine added an off-balance three at the buzzer to add to the damage, giving CSI a 42-27 lead at the break.
Despite the big advantage for CSI, York was still within striking distance, and they showed that by opening the second half on an 8-2 run, finished by Mambe Koureissi's three-point play to close to within single digits, 44-35. Again, CSI needed a lift, and again they got one, this time by way of a 12-0 run over the next four minutes.
Krystian Kopec spearheaded the stretch with a pair of three's, and another Kartalis steal and lay-up. After two York free-throws, CSI went right back to work with an 8-0 run that essentially slammed the door on the Cardinals, with Mick and Kopec adding more threes.
CSI led by a game-high 35 points on three separate occasions before ultimately settling for an 82-49 win. The 49 points allowed was the lowest on the season, while the 33-point win was CSI's biggest of the year.
The Dolphins were led by a career-high 21 points from Kartalis, who also added a team-best five steals. Latunji would add 13 points and finished tied for a team-high seven rebounds, while Kopec also landed a career-high with 11 points. CSi shot 43.5% from the floor (30-69), while connecting on 12-of-28 three-point shots (42.9%). Conversely, York shot 39.1% (18-46), and a cold 1-10 from three-point range. The Cardinals were led by Devine Chisolm's 13 points, while Vaughn posted nine rebounds. CSI finished a +17 in the turnover column, forcing 33 York turnovers, while York held a 39-33 edge on the glass.
Armed with their first back-to-back wins since late November, CSI will look to stay on track when they travel to face Lehman College on Friday.
GAME VIDEO
