Madison, N.J. – The College of Mount Saint Vincent Men's Basketball team dropped a hard fought non-conference decision at FDU-Florham on Saturday by a score of 73-66. Senior guard
Mark Waite (Chicago, Ill.) led a pair of Dolphins in double-figures with a career-high 24 points.
The Dolphins jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the contest after back-to-back buckets from Waite and
Cody Gauvard (Rockaway Park, N.Y.) to open the scoring in the first two minutes of play. The Devils would respond with a 13-0 run to grab the lead for good in the contest
FDU-Florham would continue its run and pull in front by as many as 19 points in the first half after a lay-in from Adam Katz with 5:01 remaining before the intermission. The Dolphins would close the period with 11 of the final 17 point to close to within 34-20 after 20 minutes of play.
Mount Saint Vincent went just 7-for-26 from the floor in the first half with Waite converting four the team's seven field goals on his way to 10 points in the opening frame. The Devils shot just over 41-percent from the floor in the first half and knocked down four three-pointers.
The Mount's deficit would grow to a game-high 20 points in the second half following a Kevin Furlong bucket pushed the Devils in front 58-38 midway through the second stanza. The Dolphins would continue to trail by double-figures until a
Chris Bonaventura (Staten Island, N.Y.) three-pointer got the Dolphins to within 65-57 with just over three minutes left in regulation.
Mount Saint Vincent would use an 11-0 run capped by a
Yeuri Santos (New York, N.Y.) lay-in to close to within just two points with 1:51 to play. The Devils would hold on to the lead and convert six free-throws down the stretch to earn the victory.
Mount Saint Vincent responded from a poor shooting first half and ended the game converting 40.3-percent of its field goal chances. The Dolphins went 6-for-16 from behind the arc but struggled from the free-throw line after going 10-for-22.
Waite finished the game 10-for-16 from the floor on his way to his game and career-high point total. He just missed his fifth double-double of the season after converting nine rebounds and he also handed out three assists.
Junior
Sean Caputo (Staten Island, N.Y.) was the only other Dolphin player in double-figures with 10 points after knocking down three triples. Santos added seven points and six boards for the Mount.
The Devils finished the game shooting 44.4-percent from the field and shot 40-percent as a team from three-point range. Mike Williamson led three in double-figures with a team-high 19 points.
Saturday's loss drops Mount Saint Vincent to 2-6 overall on the season. After a week off, the Dolphins will be back in action again on December 17 when they take on Methodist in the first game of the Cruzin' Classic in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Tip-off with the Monarchs is slated for 6:00 p.m.
