BOX SCORE
JAMAICA, N.Y. – The York College men's basketball team got off to a very sluggish start in its home opener against the College of Staten Island, and though they rallied in the second half, the Dolphins came out with the slight edge, winning 78-76 on Tuesday evening.
York couldn't do much right in an ugly first half, where they shot 28 percent from the field and committed ten turnovers. The poor play resulted in a 40-24 lead for the Dolphins at halftime.
But the Cardinals looked like a different team in the second half. York cut the lead by more than half in just a few minutes.
Michael Woods was the catalyst as he scored nine straight points, which was capped off on a four-point play, that cut the Dolphins lead from 16 points to 7 points with 15:13 to play.
York continued to chip away throughout the half and eventually took the lead when
Omar St. John converted a three-point play to make it 71-69 with 2:33 to play. On the next York possession,
Donald Rodriguez connected from long range to put York up by five points. But CSI quickly responded with its own three-point play from Javon Cox to cut the York lead back to two points. The Cardinals then turned the ball over on their next possession and CSI scored again to even up the score at 74-74 with 1:06 to play.
CSI was fouled on its next possession and hit both shots to go up by two. Woods then came down the floor and hit a lay-up to tie the game once again with 14 seconds left.
The Dolphins held for a final shot but were fouled with three seconds to go. Frankie Schettino hit both free throws to put his team up by two. York then tried a desperation three-pointer on its final possession but it was off the mark.
Despite the loss, Woods had another big game for York, scoring a game-high 35 points. St. John finished with a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 boards, while
Terell Roper had six points and nine rebounds.
Du'Quan Lawson chipped in eight points and four assists.
CSI was led by Schettino, who finished with 22 points and eight assists. Will Fonseca added 22 points and 12 rebounds. The Dolphins improve to 2-2, 1-0 in the CUNYAC with the victory.
York (2-3, 0-1 CUNYAC) will return to action on December 2 when they visit William Paterson at 7 p.m.
