ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY – The College of Staten Island men's basketball team will open its weekend with an East Coast Conference (ECC) matchup at Molloy University in Rockville Centre, NY. The Dolphins enter the contest riding a four-game winning streak against the Lions, highlighted by two straight regular-season sweeps, and today's game will mark the first meeting between the two teams in the 2025–26 season.

CSI Holds All-Time Series Record
The two programs first met when the Dolphins entered Division II in 2021. In the inaugural meeting, CSI fell at home, 65–52, but responded two months later with a 72–69 victory to earn its first ECC win over the Lions. Since then, the Dolphins have won five of the last six meetings to hold a 6–2 all-time series advantage, including back-to-back regular-season sweeps in 2023–24 and 2024–25.

Last season, the Dolphins defeated the Lions by 10 at home, 87–77, with JJ Chestnut returning as a key contributor from that contest after posting 10 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. In the road contest at Molloy, the Lions outscored the Dolphins 56–49 in the second half while battling back from an 11-point halftime deficit, but CSI held on for a 96–92 win to complete the sweep. Aaron Goldstein and Chestnut scored 12 points apiece in that contest, with Chestnut also adding five assists.

Dolphins Outduel the Knights
Wednesday night, CSI welcomed Queens College to the Tank, where the Knights carried a five-point lead into halftime, 40–35. In the second half, Queens pushed its advantage to as many as 15 points, leading 56–41, but the Dolphins responded with a strong rally. After allowing just one more Knights basket to make it 58, CSI went on a 12–0 run to tie the game at 58. From there, Mitchell Wiggan gave the Dolphins their first lead of the night at 60–58, and CSI carried the momentum the rest of the way, securing a 72–70 victory to remain undefeated at home.

Team and Individual Scoring Comparisons
Staten Island leads the conference in scoring, averaging 87.0 points per game as a team, while the Lions rank fourth at 79.2 ppg. Goldstein remains in the mix for the top scoring spot in the ECC, currently sitting second at 21.4 ppg, just behind the conference leader at 21.6. Asa Kone continues to pace the league in field goal percentage at .623 (99-159), highlighted by his performance Wednesday night when he led the Dolphins with 21 points while shooting 86% (6-7) from the field and 90% (9-10) from the free-throw line.

Goldstein leads the Dolphins in scoring and also tops the team with 33 steals. Kone ranks second on the team with 13.3 ppg while also leading CSI on the glass and sitting fourth in the conference with 7.7 rebounds per game. Eric Tynes is third on the team at 11.5 ppg, followed by Chestnut at 10.9, who leads the Dolphins with 97 assists this season. Wiggan rounds out CSI's double-digit scorers at 10.7 ppg.

Molloy features a similar scoring balance, with five players averaging double figures. Their leading scorer is posting 18.4 ppg, followed by averages of 14.5, 13.6, 13.3, and 10.9. The Lions also feature the current ECC Defensive Player of the Week, who recorded nine blocks against Mercy last week and leads the team with 45 blocks this season.