Patchogue, N.Y. – The College of Mount Saint Vincent Men's Basketball team saw its run in the Skyline Conference Tournament end on Thursday night with a 58-41 semifinal loss at second seeded St. Joseph's-L.I. Freshman
Ammad Alkhulaidi (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who was named the league's Rookie of the Year earlier in the day, picked up his sixth double-double of the season.
The Dolphins got off to a fast start on Thursday, scoring the first nine points of the game over the first five-and-a-half minutes of play.
James Zuccaro (Gilbert, Ariz.) hit two jumpers in the run that was also aided by a bucket from Alkhulaidi and a triple from
Antonio Johnson (Fort Johnson, N.Y.).
Mount Saint Vincent spread its lead to double-figures at the 10:15 mark of the first half on a jumper from Johnson and matched the game-high lead when a pair of Johnson free-throws that pushed the Dolphins in front 19-9 with 9:03 left in the opening period.
Following the free-throws from Johnson, Mount Saint Vincent was held to two field goals over the final nine minutes of the half. St. Joseph's closed the half on a 15-5 run and took its first lead of the game on a three-point play from McCarthy with 1:13 left in the half.
Jamir Ferebee (Staten Island, N.Y.) tied the score at 24-24 in the final half minute to send the two teams to the break deadlocked.
The Mount held St. Joseph's to 28.6-percent shooting in the first half, but allowed five three-pointers. St. Joseph's collected six offensive rebounds and outscored the Dolphins 9-2 in second chance opportunities and 9-3 in points off of turnovers.
Mount Saint Vincent was held to 15.6-percent shooting after halftime and managed only 17 points after the break.
Mike Mulligan (Pearl River, N.Y.) hit a three-pointer early in the period to get the Dolphins to within one point, but another 15-5 stretch saw the Golden Eagles move in front 43-32 with 9:39 to play.
The Dolphins would climb back to within eight points twice late in the second half, but the Golden Eagles converted 11 free-throws over the final 3:09 of regulation to move in front by the game-high advantage of 58-41.
The Golden Eagles shot 42.3-percent from the floor in the second half and saw Mount Saint Vincent go 1-for-14 from behind the arc.
Alkhulaidi finished the game 4-for-12 from the floor, scoring 12 points and collecting a career-high 16 rebounds. He added two assists, two blocked shots and a steal. Johnson was the only other Dolphin to net double-figures, scoring 13 points and leading the team with two steals.
Zuccaro finished the night with eight points and seven rebounds and Mulligan rounded out the night with four points and four rebounds.
St. Joseph's got a game-high 20 points from Andy Laurent who went 7-for-20 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. He rounded out a double-double effort with a team-high 11 rebounds. Isaiah Moore and Fernando Vasquez finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
The Dolphins shot 24.6-percent from the floor and 14.3-percent from behind the arc. St. Joseph's finished the game with a 13-8 edge in points off of turnovers and 11-3 advantage in second chance points.
With the loss, Mount Saint Vincent falls to 18-9 overall on the season. The Dolphins will now await word on a possible ECAC Tournament bid.
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