York College

Box Score

JAMAICA, NY – The York College men’s basketball team cruised to a 64-57 win over the College of Staten Island in a CUNY Athletic Conference South Division match-up Friday night.   A strong defensive effort by the Cardinals was the key, as York forced 27 turnovers and held the Dolphins to just 35 percent shooting for the game.

The Cardinals were led sophomore Marcel Esonwune (Lagos, Nigeria) who turned in another big effort, netting 16 points and grabbing 16 rebounds to go along with six blocks and three steals. It was his sixth straight double-double and his six blocks matched a career high.   Nick Hamilton-Lopez (Woodside, NY/ Pfeiffer University) and Nahum Verna (Port-au-Prince, Haiti/ Hillcrest) each paced York with nine points, while Ryan Exum (Bronx, NY/ Truman) finished with seven points and swiped four more steals to add to his conference-leading total. 

The Cardinals struggled in the first half, shooting only 29.6 percent and trailed by six points with five minutes to play.  York finished the half on a 6-0 run, however, after Esonwune tipped in a shot at the buzzer to tie the game at 24-24. 

York picked up its play in the second half, shooting 41 percent, while holding the Dolphins to just 30 percent from the field.  York also took advantage of a large free-throw disparity.  The Cardinals went to the stripe 41 times compared to just 14 for the Dolphins. 

For CSI, Ryan Hennessey led the way with 18 points, while Christian Montervino added seven as the Dolphins fell to 2-11 and 0-4 in the CUNYAC. 

With the win, York improves to 5-11, 2-2 in the CUNYAC.  They will return to action on Wednesday when they visit City Tech at 7:00 p.m.