Newburgh, N.Y. – The College of Mount Saint Vincent Men's Basketball team suffered a hard fought 74-68 loss at Mount Saint Mary on Thursday night in its Skyline Conference opener. Junior James Zuccaro (Gilbert, Ariz.) led the offensive attack with 17 points.
 
In a tightly contested opening 20 minutes, the two teams played to a tie score five times over the firstseven minutes, before the Dolphins used an 8-2 spurt to open a 20-14 lead with 9:41 left before the half. Stephen Oliver (Brooklyn, N.Y.) converted five points in the run, with Zuccaro capping things off with a triple.
 
The Dolphins would led by as many as six points on two more occasions in the first half, but saw Mount Saint Mary close the opening stanza on a 7-2 run. The only bucket for the Dolphins over the final two minutes came on an Antonio Johnson (Fort Johnson, N.Y.) jumper with three seconds left in the period to send Mount Saint Vincent to the half with a 32-31 lead.
 
Coming out of halftime, the Knights tied the score at 36-36 on a Donte Howell three point play, but the Dolphins would quickly built the lead back to five on a three-pointer from Sean Caputo (Staten Island, N.Y.) and a jumper from Shaquille Cunningham (Brooklyn, N.Y.).
 
Mount Saint Vincent would not relinquish the lead until another three point play from Howell with 14:05 left to play gave the Knights a 43-41 lead. A Chris Frey lay-in would push the lead to four for the Knights, before the Dolphins rallied with five straight points from Zuccaro. The junior capped the spurt with a three-point play with 12:54 left to put the Dolphins back in front 46-45.
 
In the back and forth affair, Anthony Cipriano converted a three-pointer for Mount Saint Mary that gave it the lead back with 10:51 left in regulation. The triple started a 19-8 spurt for the Knights that saw them pull in front by a game-high 10 points on a Joe Stabach triple with 5:11 showing on the clock.
 
Trailing by double-figures for the first time on the night, the Dolphins put together a final push and used a 10-3 run over a four minute stretch to pull back within three points with a minute left. Three-point field goals from Caputo and Zuccaro sparked the rally, but the Knights got a Stabach jumper to stop the run and went 3-for-3 from the stripe down the stretch to hold off the Dolphins.
 
Both teams finished the night shooting better then 40-percent overall, with the Dolphins converting 42.9-percent of their chances and the Knights hitting on 45.3-percent of theirs. Mount Saint Vincent knocked down two more triples then Mount Saint Mary, but the Knights finished the evening 23-for-29 from the free-throw line, including 14-for-19 in the second half.
 
Zuccaro wrapped up the night 6-for-9 overall from the field and 2-for-3 from behind the arc and also contributed two assists and a steal. Cunningham scored in double-figures for the fourth time this season with 14 points, including a 6-for-6 effort from the free-throw line. He also grabbed seven rebounds, handed out four assists and swiped three steals.
 
Caputo knocked down a pair of threes for the Dolphins and handed out three assists, with Kevin Henry (Yonkers, N.Y.) coming off the bench to collect four boards and block a shot. Michael Knott (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.)  had his second straight solid night with eight points in his first start of the season.
 
Howell finished the night with a game-high 20 points and went 12-for-13 from the free-throw line and also handed out three assists. Joe Henain recorded a double-double with 19 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
 
The loss is Mount Saint Vincent's third straight overall and its fifth straight to Mount Saint Mary. The Dolphins stand at 1-3 overall on the year and 0-1 in league play heading into Saturday's matchup with St. Joseph's-L.I. Tip time with the Golden Eagles at the Sharp Center is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.