Staten Island, NY - The College of Staten Island Men's Basketball Team plays their biggest game of the season tonight as they take on Queens College with their playoff hopes on the line.  The Dolphins enter today's game with a 7-15 overall record and a 5-8 mark against the conference.  The Knights enter tonight's game with an identical 7-15 record and are 4-7 against the East Coast Conference.  The Knights took the win in the first meeting earlier this season, but the Dolphins hold a 10-4 advantage in the all-time series.  A Dolphins win in tonight's game would put the Dolphins one game ahead of Queens in the win column with four conference games remaining on CSI's schedule.  A Knights win over the Dolphins would not only move Queens ahead of CSI in the standings, but it would also secure Queens the tiebreaker over the Dolphins should the two teams finish with the same record.

The Dolphins last played on Sunday against D'Youville and closed their weekend road trip with a four-point win over the Saints.  The Dolphins held a double-digit lead late in the game, but a series of turnovers allowed the Saints to trim a 12-point lead all the way down to one.  However, a late technical foul allowed CSI to go ahead by two possessions from the free-throw line to close out the win.  The Knights last played on Saturday against Molloy and fell to the Lions in double overtime.  Leading by three in the closing seconds, the Knights surrendered a game-tying three at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.  Queens would go on to lose by seven which dropped them out of a playoff position heading into their matchup with CSI.

The Dolphins were once again forced to play shorthanded on Sunday, but Messiah Mallory and Bryce Waterman delivered huge performances in the CSI win.  Mallory registered another double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds and Waterman tied a season-high with 26 points.  Along with Mallory, Luis Armas, Chris Velasquez and JJ Chestnut have been fixtures in the Dolphins lineup playing in every game this season.  They are the only four players on the CSI roster with that distinction, and along with Waterman, were the only five Dolphins that scored last time CSI faced Queens.  Last time these two teams met, the five Dolphins starters scored in double-figures, but the bench did not score a single point in the game.

The Knights have four players averaging double-digit scoring entering tonight's game led by Sunnie Diamond's 14.1 points per game.  However, he has not played since mid-January leaving William Ellis as the team's active leading-scorer at 12.3 points per game.  Tyler Carey, the team's third-leading scorer, is also the team's leading rebounder and has started all 22 games for the Knights.  It was a 20-point effort for the Knight's fourth-leading scorer, Shamar Chester, last time they faced the Dolphins, and his scoring output trailed only Diamond who scored 24 in that game.  The Knights also shot well above their season shooting percentages against CSI finishing 46% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc.  

A loss in tonight's game would deal a major blow to either team's playoff chances.  A loss by CSI would ensure that Queens wins any potential tiebreaker and would put Queens a half game ahead of CSI in the standings.  A Queens loss would give the Dolphins the opportunity to win a potential tiebreaker and put them a half game ahead of Queens in the standings.  One thing that is for certain is that both teams control their own destiny heading into tonight's game and the winner will maintain complete control over their playoff fate. 

Gametime - 7:30 PM
Location - Staten Island, NY
All-Time Series - Staten Island leads, 10-4
Last Meeting - 1/11/23:  Queens won, 84-72

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