LAKELAND, FL – The College of Staten Island men's basketball team concluded their two-game Florida trip on Tuesday night with a visit to #15 Florida Southern College (FSC).

After trailing for the entire first half and by 18 at halftime, the Dolphins came storming back behind an 8-0 scoring run.  With the score now 58-49 and 11:31 remaining, FSC scored the next twelve to go in front by 21.  The Dolphins would not get any closer than fourteen after that as the Mocs took the win, 98-77.

FSC opened the game by scoring the first six points, but Aaron Goldstein and Asa Kone quickly delivered consecutive buckets to cut the lead to two.  A Mocs three made it 9-6 moments later, but JJ Chestnut converted a layup through contact to cut the lead back to one.  The Dolphins would pull to within one on two separate occasions, but consecutive FSC threes pushed their lead to seven at the 13:04 mark.  The Mocs run would extend to 14-0 before Brandon Torres ended the CSI scoring drought with back-to-back threes.  Goldstein then cut the lead to single-digits with the final CSI three-pointer of the half two minutes later, but the Mocs would close the half on a 17-8 run. 

The CSI defense opened the second half with a strong effort to prevent the deficit from growing, and the Mocs led by seventeen with 13:21 to play.  From here, four points from Mitchell Wiggan propelled an 8-0 Dolphins run to cut the FSC lead to single-digits.  This prompted an immediate Mocs timeout which was followed by a well-executed inbound play leading to a dunk.  This was the beginning of a 12-0 run that put the Mocs ahead by 21, and the Dolphins would not get any closer than fourteen the rest of the way.

Goldstein and Kone each scored 12, and both Wiggan and Torress joined them in double figures with 11 and 10 respectively.  Kone's 12-point, 12-rebound effort was good for his second straight double-double.

The College of Staten Island men's basketball team returns to action at home on Saturday as they host Adelphi University at 3:00 PM.

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