Albany, N.Y. – Junior
James Zuccaro (Gilbert, Ariz.) gave the College of Mount Saint Vincent Men's Basketball team the lead with 1:37 left in regulation and
Shaquille Cunningham (Brooklyn, N.Y.) sealed the win with a layup in the final 20 seconds to give the Dolphins an key 65-62 road win on Tuesday night at Sage.
The Dolphins got off to a quick start, scoring five of the first six points capped by a
Sean Caputo (Staten Island, N.Y.) triple 2:04 into the contest. The Mount would go on to use a 14-4 run capped by another Caputo trey to pull in front 22-11 with 10:35 left in the first period.
Sage went on the net the next 11 points to knot the score at 22-22 on a Ryan Sager bucket at the 7:34 mark, but the Dolphins put the next five points on the board with a
Michael Knott (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) bucket and a triple from Antonio Johnson (Fort Johnson, N.Y.) to push the Mount in front 27-22.
Zuccaro would bury a three-pointer at the 2:25 mark to get the Dolphins back in front by five points, but Sage finished the half with the final six points, all from Sager, to sneak into the intermission with a 33-32 lead.
Sage shot better then 61-percent from the floor in the first half and outscored the Mount 20-2 in the paint. Sager finished with 11 points to lead all scorers after 20 minutes of play.
Mount Saint Vincent shot 46.2-percent from the floor overall in the opening stanza and knocked in eight three-pointers and shot 53.3-percent from long distance. Caputo hit three triples and led the Dolphins with nine points.
Sager continued his personal run with a three-point play coming out of halftime to give the Gators a three point advantage, which Zuccaro quickly erased it with four straight points for the Mount to pull it back in front 36-35.
Mount Saint Vincent and Sage would trade the next four hoops before the Gators ripped off a quick 5-0 run capped by a Matt Farbotko triple to take a 42-38 with 14:31 left in regulation.
Johnson would tie the score at 46-46 with a three-point play for the Mount at the 12:00 mark, but Sage would not fall behind again until a Knott conversion gave the Dolphins a 52-51 lead with 8:39 on the clock.
The Dolphins would spread its lead out to four on a Cunningham three-point field goal at the 6:34 mark and the Mount kept the advantage until a pair of Mason Horne free-throws knotted the score for the fourth time of the night at 59-59 with 4:21 left.
Sage would sneak back in front by three points with under four minutes left on a three-point play from Horne before the Mount closed the game with the final six points.
Trailing 62-59, the Dolphins pulled to within one on a pair of Cunningham free-throws and then took the lead for good on a clutch Zuccaro jumper with 1:37 left. Cunningham sealed the win for the Dolphins with a lay-in with 18 seconds left to give the Dolphins the season sweep over the Gators.
Despite shooting a lesser percentage then Sage in the second half, the Dolphins converted four more field goals and finished the game shooting 41.4-percent. The Mount also secured four more offensive rebounds in the game and posted a 17-10 edge in second chance scoring. The Mount Saint Vincent bench also had a big night, outscoring its opponent's 19-4.
Cunningham finished the game 7-for-14 overall and 3-for-5 three-point range on his way to matching the game-high with 19 points. He also handed out a pair of assists and swiped a steal for the Dolphins.
Zuccaro wrapped up the game 4-for-10 from the floor, knocking down two triples, to go along with a team-high eight rebounds. He also recorded two assists, two blocks and two steals in the winning effort.
Caputo closed the night hitting three of the team's nine three-pointers and equaled the team-high, joining Johnson, with three assists.
D'Andre McPhatter (Bronx, N.Y.) came off the bench to score nine points and secure three rebounds.
Sage shot better then 52-percent from the floor and outscored Mount Saint Vincent 16-8 from the free-throw line, but made only four triples and made three fewer field goals overall. Sage's big advantage came in the paint, outscoring the Dolphins 32-18.
Horne led the Gators with 19 points, while Farbotko and Sager added 16 and 15 respectively. Sager led all players with 10 rebounds and also added four assists. Jeff Stopera handed out a game-high five assists and added three boards.
The win for Mount Saint Vincent moves its overall record to 7-17 and its Skyline Conference mark to 5-12. The Dolphins will close out the regular season on Saturday when they travel to NYU-POLY. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
