Riverdale, N.Y. – Led by 19 points from senior James Zuccaro (Gilbert, Ariz.) and a double-double from freshman Ammad Alkhulaidi (Brooklyn, N.Y.), the College of Mount Saint Vincent Men's Basketball team posted an 84-61 win over Medgar Evers in the 2014-15 season opener.
 
After falling behind 7-0 in the early going on Saturday, Mount Saint Vincent rebounded to take its first lead of the game when a Jesse Regina (Staten Island, N.Y.) three-pointer pushed the Dolphins in front 18-17 midway through the first half.
 
Medgar Evers would rally to pull back in front 27-23 on a Reynaldo Eloy triple at the 6:45 mark before the Mount closed the half with a 15-10 spurt to carry a 42-37 lead into halftime. The Dolphins went 4-for-5 from the floor over the run with Alkhulaidi netting seven points.
 
The Dolphins shot just under 47-percent from the floor in the opening period and went 6-for-14e from three-point range to build the lead. Alkhulaidi paced the Mount with nine points at halftime to go along with seven rebounds.
 
Coming out of halftime, Mount Saint Vincent quickly built its lead to double-figures when Kyle Beckmann (New City, N.Y.) hit back-to-back three-pointers to get the Dolphins' lead up to 50-37 with 18:25 to play in regulation.
 
Medgar Evers would not be able to get its deficit under 10 points the remainder of the afternoon and saw Mount Saint Vincent spread its lead to 21 points on a Jamir Ferebee (Staten Island, N.Y.) conversion with just shy of three minutes to play. A pair of Kahlil Shorter (Staten Island, N.Y.) free-throws in the final minute gave the Dolphins the final 23 point advantage, its largest lead of the afternoon.
 
The Dolphins forced 12 Cougar turnovers in the second half on its way to a 15-0 advantage in points off miscues in the second half. The Dolphins also held a 14-4 edge in paint points after halftime, while holding Medgar Evers to 37-percent shooting.
 
Zuccaro scored 11 of his team-high 19 points after halftime on Saturday and finished the game 7-for-16 from the field, adding five rebounds to the winning effort. Beckmann finished the day 5-for-9 from three-point range on his way to 15 points in his collegiate debut, with Alkhulaidi adding 11 points and a team-high 12 rebounds.
 
Ferebee came off the bench to score 14 points on 5-for-12 shooting for the Dolphins and joined Antonio Johnson (Fort Johnson, N.Y.) with a team-high four assists.
 
Matthew Walker led the Medgar Evers attack with a game-high 22 points with Valin Williams posting a game-high 14 rebounds.
 
Overall, Mount Saint Vincent finished the game shooting 45.3-percent from the field, 41.4-percent from three-point range and just under 78-percent from the free-throw line. The Dolphins turned 11 offensive rebounds into 14 points on Saturday and scored 20 points off of 21 Medgar Evers turnovers.
 
At 1-0 overall on the season, Mount Saint Vincent will return to action on Tuesday when it plays host to Vaughn. Tip-off at the Peter Jay Sharp Center is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

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