AMHERST, NY – The College of Staten Island men's basketball team faced No. 2 Daemen University on Sunday afternoon in Amherst, NY. After falling behind 17–6 early in the first half, the Dolphins trailed 48–30 at halftime and ultimately dropped an 88–70 decision to the Wildcats.

Asa Kone opened the scoring for the Dolphins after an early Wildcats basket, cutting the deficit to 3–2, but Daemen quickly responded with a 12–0 run to build a double-digit lead that CSI would spend the rest of the afternoon trying to overcome. Eric Tynes snapped the run at the freethrow line, going 2-2, and Kone followed with another basket in the paint to make it 13–6.

Aaron Goldstein added a pair of freethrows of his own for the Dolphins' eighth point, but Daemen continued to pull away, extending the lead to 24–8. With offensive momentum hard to come by, the Dolphins went into the locker room trailing 48–30 at the break.

The second half was evenly played, with both teams scoring 40 points. JJ Chestnut and Goldstein combined for five early points to open the half, trimming the deficit to 51–35. CSI later cut the Wildcats' lead to 13 following an Andrew Benedict three-pointer, making it 67–53, but each Dolphins run was met with an answer from the hosts.

With just over six minutes remaining, Daemen pushed the lead back to 21 at 80–59, and the Dolphins were unable to mount a final comeback, falling 88–70. The loss dropped CSI to 3–2 in ECC play and 12–5 overall.

Goldstein led the Dolphins with 16 points while adding five assists and two steals. Benedict finished with 13 points, shooting 50 percent (2-of-4) from beyond the arc, while Kone added 12 points on an efficient 6-of-8 shooting performance. Tynes rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.

The Dolphins return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 14, when they host St. Thomas Aquinas College at The Tank. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

GAME REPLAY