STATEN ISLAND, NY – The College of Staten Island men's basketball team played their first game following their Florida trip earlier today as they faced Adelphi University at The Tank.  The Dolphins never trailed in the game, but a 20-point CSI lead was trimmed to one before the Dolphins pulled away in the closing seconds.

The Dolphins started strong on their home floor once again and jumped out to an early 18-4 lead behind a 14-0 scoring run.  Joey Poulin delivered a pair of threes and JJ Chestnut quickly reached double-figures in a big first half for the CSI offense.  Andrew Benedict also contributed five points off the CSI bench, and the Dolphins shot 5-9 from beyond the arc during the first 20 minutes.  At the 12:48 mark in the half, Adelphi pulled back to within nine, but from here the CSI lead would grow further.  The Dolphins went ahead by as many as 19 before the break, and the lead at halftime would sit at 18 points, 44-26.

After a first half that saw the Dolphins build an early lead behind Adelphi turnovers, the Dolphins struggled with turnover issues following the halftime break.  This allowed the Panthers to trim the lead to twelve, but six straight points from Aaron Goldstein kept the Panthers from pulling to within single-digits.  Leading by eleven, Goldstein added one of his two three-pointers with 12:27 to play, but the following possession was the start of a 9-0 Adelphi run.  It took the Panthers just three minutes to cut the lead to five, but they would not get any closer than that until the final 3:45.  After a Mason Jackson three made it a two-point game, neither team scored again until the Panthers hit a free-throw more than two minutes later.  Now leading by one in the closing minute, a clutch Chestnut finish and a huge charge draw by Poulin helped secure the CSI win, 78-69.

Goldstein led the Dolphins with 30 points, his second game of the week with 30 points or more.  Chestnut added 21, and Asa Kone led the Dolphins on the glass with 12 boards.  Another strong shooting effort for the team saw the Dolphins shoot 48% from the field and 41% from beyond the arc.  The loss is the first for Adelphi this season, and the Dolphins remain unbeaten at home with a 3-0 mark at The Tank.

The College of Staten Island men's basketball team will be on the road in their next outing as they visit Pace University on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m..

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GAME REPLAY