STATEN ISLAND, NY – The College of Staten Island men's basketball team extended its winning streak Tuesday evening with an 80-76 victory over Franklin Pierce University at the Tank.

With the win, the Dolphins pushed their streak to five games, remained perfect at home at 8-0, and improved to 10-4 overall on the season.

Franklin Pierce opened the contest with a 4-0 run, but JJ Chestnut quickly got the Dolphins on the board with a layup, sparking a 7-0 CSI run to take a 9-4 lead. The Dolphins continued to build momentum and reached their first double-digit advantage when Chestnut scored again to make it 24-14. Later in the first half, Andrew Benedict drained a three-pointer to give CSI its largest lead of the half at 12, 44-32.

The Ravens were able to trim the deficit before the break, as the Dolphins carried a 46-39 lead into halftime.

Chestnut and Mitchell Wiggan helped CSI maintain control in the second half, answering each Franklin Pierce run. Eric Tynes gave the Dolphins their largest lead of the night at 14 with a jumper, and Chestnut followed with back-to-back baskets to extend the advantage to 61-49 with under 14 minutes remaining.

Franklin Pierce mounted a late push, cutting the Dolphins' lead to four, 75-71, with just over two minutes to play. Aaron Goldstein responded with five straight points to push the lead back to seven, 80-73. Both teams went cold down the stretch, and the Ravens scored the final basket with one second remaining, as CSI secured the non-conference victory.

Chestnut led all scorers with 21 points, shooting 50% (3-6) from three-point range. Goldstein recorded a double-double with 18 points and 13 assists, with his assist total tying him with Chestnut for second-most assists in a single game in program history. Benedict matched a career high with 14 points, while Tynes added 13.

The Dolphins will return to the Tank for their final non-conference game of the season on Jan. 6, hosting Post University at 7:30 PM.

GAME REPLAY