JAMAICA, N.Y.— After a closely-contest first half of play, the College of Staten Island pulled away in the second half and defeated the York College men's basketball team, 74-55, on Wednesday night.
 
The Dolphins earned a bit of revenge over York after the Cardinals upset them in the CUNYAC playoffs last season.   Last season's CUNYAC Player of the Year, Will Fonseca, led CSI with 16 points and 11 boards.  Khaleeq Baum added a game-high 18 points with seven rebounds.
 
York got 17 points and six rebounds from Rashaan Bailey and Ryan Smart registered a double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds).  Chad Coachman chipped in 10 points.
 
The two teams battled through the first half, with CSI holding a modest lead for most of the time.  The Dolphins briefly held a lead of 11 points following a  Baum lay-up with 14 minutes to play, but York scored six unanswered to cut the deficit down to five points.  York continued to keep it close from there, with CSI scoring a late basket to go up by eight at halftime (34-26).
 
The Cardinals hung around for most of the second half, but could never quite pull in front.  Staten Island then got some separation thanks to a 12-3 run that pushed the lead up to 18 points with 7:47 to play.  York could not recover from there.
 
Staten Island's interior play was a big reason for the victory.  They scored 42 points in the paint and won the rebounding battle (42-33).  CSI also shot an efficient 50 percent from the field, while holding York to just 33.9 percent.  York, who has struggled from long range all year, continued that trend tonight, making just 1-of-7 from three-point range.
 
With the loss, York drops to 4-12, 1-6 CUNYAC.  Staten Island improves to 11-4, 5-2 CUNYAC.  The Cardinals go on the road Friday to take on John Jay at 8 p.m.