Riverdale, N.Y. – Under the direction of head coach Brian Nigro '00, who begins his sixth season at the helm, the College of Mount Saint Vincent Men's Basketball team will tip-off the 2013-14 season on Friday night against Centenary in game two of the 2^nd Annual CMSV Tip-Off Tournament. The Dolphins and Cyclones will get underway at 8:00 p.m. and will be preceded with Trinity (Conn.) and St. Joseph's-Brooklyn at 6:00 p.m.
 
Mount Saint Vincent will look to improve on an eight win season from a year ago, but will have to do it after losing their top three scorers from the 2012-13 year. Shaquille Cunningham was lost to graduation after averaging 13.6 points per game and becoming the program's 15^th member of the 1,000 point club. Current assistant coach Sean Caputo led the team in three-point field goals made with 50 and averaged just under nine points per game as a senior.
 
The Dolphins will return seniors Brandon Serrano (Hempstead, N.Y.), Gerard Fraser (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Kevin Henry (Yonkers, N.Y.). Fraser joined the Dolphins at the midway point of the season during the 2012-13 campaign and led the team in rebounding average at 5.8 per night to go along with 5.7 points per game. Henry, the only four year member of the squad, appeared in 19 games as a junior and shot just shy of 41.-percent from the floor and averaged just under three rebounds per contest.
 
Juniors Antonio Johnson (Fort Johnson, N.Y.), D'Andre McPhatter (Bronx, N.Y.) and Anthony Woods (West Palm Beach, Fla.) will also be leaned on for experience during the 2013-14 season. McPhatter averaged 7.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game last year after appearing in 25 games and shooting 44.3-percent from the floor and 68.7-percent from the free-throw line. Johnson averaged 5.0 points per game in 23 contests last season and Woods averaged just under four points per night in 18 games played.
 
Nigro and the Dolphins will look turn to a talented group of newcomers for immediate impact in 2013-14. The group includes guards: Christian Giles (East Elmhurst, N.Y.), Kahlil Shorter (Staten Island, N.Y.), Kevin Magee (Rockaway Park, N.Y.), Dante Gray (Monroe-Woodbury, N.Y.), Jesse Regina (Staten Island, N.Y.), Winston Ensuncho (Fair Lawn, N.J.), Ryan Biddiscombe (Rockaway Park, N.Y.), Taj Lake (Fruitland Park, Fla.) and Greg Kopcienski (Mount Sinai, N.Y.) as well as front court players: Matt Zarnoch (Highland Hills, N.Y.) and Arian Novaj (Bronx, N.Y.).
 
Mount Saint Vincent will play on Saturday afternoon on day two of the tip-off tournament against either Trinity or St. Joseph's and will continue a three game home stand to open the season on Sunday, November 24 against Penn St.-Altoona.
 
After closing the 2012-13 season at 8-17 overall and 6-10 in Skyline Conference play, The Dolphins will look to return to the Skyline Conference Tournament for the fourth time under Nigro in 2013-14 and for the third time in the last four seasons. 

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