TAMPA, FL – The College of Staten Island men's basketball team opened a two-game Florida trip on Monday night against the University of Tampa.

Led by a career-high 40 points from Aaron Goldstein, the Dolphins possessed a one-point lead with 10:30 remaining.  However, the Spartans seized control of the game after that, and a late Dolphins comeback bid fell short in the closing seconds.

The two teams traded leads for much of the early going, but the Dolphins built the first double-digit lead of the game midway through the first half.  After trailing 13-12, CSI surged ahead by eleven behind a 12-0 run.  This would go down as their largest lead of the game, but the Spartans would respond with a run of their own.  During the next seven minutes, Tampa would regain a one-point lead behind an 18-6 surge.  With just 33 seconds remaining until halftime, Goldstein and Asa Kone would combine to score the final six points of the half.  This put the Dolphins in front by four at the break, 40-36.

Back-to-back Spartans three-pointers opened the second half to give Tampa the lead back with 18 minutes remaining.  From here, neither team would lead by more than one possession until the final ten minutes when Tampa went ahead by four from the free throw line.  The Spartans lead grew as large as thirteen, but the Dolphins would make one final push in the closing minutes.  Mitchell Wiggan and Goldstein cut the lead to four from the line on two separate occasions, but the Dolphins would not get any closer than that the rest of the way.

Goldstein's 40 points represented a career-high and he finished the game a perfect 9-9 from the stripe.  Kone recorded his first double-double of the season with a 13-point, 9-rebound effort, and the Dolphins shot over 49% as a team.

The College of Staten Island men's basketball team wraps up their Florida trip tomorrow night as they head east for a matchup with #15 Florida Southern College at 7:00 PM.