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College of Staten Island Athletics

COLLEGE OF STATEN ISLAND ATHLETICS
MBB22625_POST
96
Winner Staten Island CSI 11-16,7-8 ECC
92
Molloy Molloy 9-17,5-10 ECC
Winner
Staten Island CSI
11-16,7-8 ECC
96
Final
92
Molloy Molloy
9-17,5-10 ECC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Staten Island CSI 47 49 96
Molloy Molloy 36 56 92

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

MEN'S BASKETBALL SURVIVES LATE LIONS RALLY TO CLINCH PLAYOFF BERTH, 96-92

Rockville Centre, NY - The College of Staten Island Men's Basketball Team clinched a spot in the East Coast Conference playoffs earlier tonight as they survived a late Molloy rally to defeat the Lions, 96-92.  The Dolphins are now 11-16 on the season and 7-8 in conference play.  Molloy ends the night 9-17 on the year and 5-10 against the ECC.  The CSI victory leaves open two possible scenarios for the Dolphins entering the ECC playoffs.  First, they can earn a first-round home game and a top-four seed in the conference with a win over Queens on Saturday.  Second, a loss to Queens would drop them into either the five or six seed which would see them play a road game in the first round of the playoffs.  What is for certain is that a win earns the Dolphins a playoff home game, and a loss will send them on the road.

The Dolphins scored nine of the first eleven points in the game to jump out to an early lead, but Molloy responded with a 14-7 run to tie the score at 16-16.  The two teams traded baskets for the next several minutes until a Mitchell Wiggan three-pointer gave the Dolphins a four-point lead, 26-22.  Bryce Merchant ended a 9-0 CSI scoring run with a three, but Shemar Latty answered right back with a three of his own.  Now trailing by seven again, Molloy went on a 7-0 run to tie the score at 32-32.  The Dolphins then scored the next seven including four by Messiah Mallory and three from Chris Clancy.  The CSI lead would eventually grow to eleven by halftime and the teams entered the break with the Dolphins ahead, 47-36.

The Dolphins grew their lead early in the second half as Aaron Goldstein quickly scored eight points to bump the CSI lead to fifteen.  That lead was briefly cut to ten, but Clancy connected on yet another CSI three to increase the lead back to thirteen.  Highlighted by a series of emphatic dunks, another Dolphins run pushed the CSI lead up to 20 points with just over seven minutes remaining.  However, the Lions came surging back in the closing minutes.  Trailing by 10 with 1:08 remaining, a series of Dolphins turnovers and Rob Matos baskets allowed Molloy to get within three.  The Dolphins then turned the ball over again in a one-possession game, but they elected to intentionally foul before Matos could get off a potential game-tying shot.  This effectively ended the game with under four seconds remaining, and the Dolphins held on to win, 96-92.

Mallory registered another double-double leading the Dolphins in scoring with 20 and in rebounding with 14.  Latty scored 15, Goldstein and JJ Chestnut scored 12, and Clancy scored 11.  As a team, the Dolphins shot 52% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc in a strong shooting performance.  On the other side, Molloy shot 47% from the floor and 40% from three.  For the Lions, Merchant and Matos combined to score 51 of the 92 Molloy points finishing with 27 and 24 respectively.

With the win, the Dolphins have clinched a playoff spot and are still in the running to host a home game.  On Saturday, the Dolphins will host a Senior Day matchup with Queens College.  The winner of that game is assured a first-round home game in the playoffs while the loser will not have any chance of hosting in the opening round.  Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 PM and will follow a pregame ceremony recognizing the Men's Basketball senior class.

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