Final Stats
Riverdale, N.Y. – The College of Mount Saint Vincent Men's Basketball team dropped its second straight home contest on Thursday night after a tough 80-70 loss to Old Westbury. Sophomore George Naldjieff (Miami, Fla.) continued his strong campaign with a career-high 14 points for the Dolphins.
The Dolphins got off to a quick start on Thursday and did not trail in the first half and held a lead as large as 12 points in the final two minutes of the period. Mount Saint Vincent used a 10-1 run late in the first half to gain its largest lead, with Shaquille Cunningham (Brooklyn, N.Y.) netting four points in that spurt.
The Dolphins shot a blistering 65.2-percent from the floor in the first half on their way to a 36-27 lead at the break. Senior Dino Johnson (Fort Johnson, N.Y.) led the Mount with eight points off the bench and canned half of the team's four three-pointers in the frame.
As hot as Mount Saint Vincent was in the first half, it was cold in the second half shooting just 31.4-percent as a team. On the other side, Old Westbury shot better then 55-percent as a team and scored 53 points to earn the win and a split of the season series.
Mount Saint Vincent would hold on to the lead until the Panthers capped off a 26-16 run with a Lester Prosper dunk to take a 53-52 lead with just under nine minutes left in regulation. Cunningham would quickly give the Dolphins the lead back with a three-pointer, but Old Westbury would use a Matthew Duffy triple on its next possession to take a lead it would not give back.
Old Westbury finished the night with a 44-27 edge on the backboards, including a 12-5 advantage on the offensive glass. Prosper posted 23 rebounds for the Panthers in a double-double effort that included 16 points. He also swatted four blocks and secured a steal. Jamal Little came off the bench for Old Westbury to score a game-high 20 points after shooting 6-for-12 from the floor. Duffy also had a strong night for the Panthers, scoring 19 points after knocking down five three-pointers.
Mount Saint Vincent finished the night shooting 44.8-percent from the field and went 7-for-22 from behind the arc. The Dolphins struggled on the night from the charity stripe after going just 11-for-21 and getting outscored by nine from the free-throw line.
Naldjieff finished the night 6-for-11 from the field on his way to a career-best 14 points to go along with four boards and a pair of blocked shots. Cunningham finished the night with 13 points and Cody Gauvard (rockaway, N.Y.) rounded out a trio in double-figures with 10 points. Mark Waite (Chicago, Ill.) also had a solid all-around game with eight points and team-highs in rebounds with six and assists with five.
The loss sends Mount Saint Vincent to its second two game losing skid of the season and drops it to 12-4 overall on the season and 7-4 in Skyline Conference play. The Dolphins will look to rebound on Monday night when they travel to Yeshiva. Tip-off with the Macs is slated for 8:00 p.m.
