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College of Staten Island Athletics

COLLEGE OF STATEN ISLAND ATHLETICS
111122MBB_POSTrsz
Marquis Pickering
73
Winner Wilmington (DE) Wilm 1-0,0-0 CACC
71
Staten Island CSI 0-1,0-0 ECC
Winner
Wilmington (DE) Wilm
1-0,0-0 CACC
73
Final
71
Staten Island CSI
0-1,0-0 ECC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Wilmington (DE) Wilm 37 36 73
Staten Island CSI 34 37 71

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

MEN'S BASKETBALL DROPS THRILLING HOME OPENER VS WILMINGTON IN CLOSING SECONDS, 73-71

Staten Island, NY - The College of Staten Island Men's Basketball Team treated the capacity crowd at The Tank to a thriller in the team's home opener earlier tonight, but the Dolphins dropped their first game of the season by a final score of 73-71. CSI, now 0-1 on the season, held a sixteen-point first-half lead, but a late surge by the 1-0 Wildcats erased the deficit and gave Wilmington a three-point lead heading into halftime. It was a back-and-forth game from there until the closing seconds when Justin Thomas, who scored 17 second-half points, gave the Wildcats the lead for good on a go-ahead jump shot with under five seconds to play.

The Dolphins came out incredibly strong scoring points in bunches behind their outside shooting. David Shkolniy opened the game by scoring the first seven CSI points, but he was relegated to the bench early with foul trouble. Despite being forced out of the game, his early energy at both ends of the floor was infectious and the Dolphins' defense surrendered only 16 points through the first twelve minutes of the game. At that point, they led 32-16, but the Wildcats ended the half on a 21-2 run to give them a three-point halftime advantage.

The Wildcats led by as many as five early in the second half, but their lead would never grow any larger than that. Thanks in large part to the inside scoring of Messiah Mallory, who took over at the offensive end in the second half, and the three-point shooting of Bryce Waterman and Luis Armas, the Dolphins turned the five-point deficit into a five-point lead. Highlighting the CSI run were a four-point play by Armas and a huge and-one by Mallory that energized both the CSI bench and the fans in attendance. The Dolphins would lead by five with just over four minutes to play, but they simply could not put Wilmington away.  Six straight Wildcat points put them ahead by one, two Waterman free throws gave CSI the lead, and ultimately, Thomas hit the dagger to put Wilmington ahead for good in the final seconds of a two-point victory.

The Dolphins got very balanced scoring in the game and shot the ball very well from beyond the arc finishing with a 42% mark from long range.  Mallory, after a slow start to the game offensively, erupted for 19 points and was a vocal leader at both ends of the floor in the closing minutes.  Armas and Waterman each hit four three and finished with 16 points while Shkolniy connected on all three of his attempts from downtown and finished with 13 points.  For the Wildcats, Justin Thomas and Jordan Jackson led the way with 17 and 16 points respectively.  Nalik Veasley was not far behind with 15, and he spent most of the night engaged in a battle with Mallory at both ends of the floor.  Ultimately, the difference in the game was the free throw tally as the Dolphins shot 7-11 while the Wildcats hit 14 of their 23 attempts from the line.

The Dolphins are right back at it tomorrow as they take on Goldey Beacom College at 2 PM.  Following the Lightning loss to Bentley University earlier tonight, both teams will be in search of their first win on day two of the Tournament of Heroes tomorrow afternoon.

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