Riverdale, N.Y. – Sophomore
Jesse Regina (Staten Island, N.Y.) scored a career-high 19 points and matched his career-high with six assists as the College of Mount Saint Vincent Men's Basketball team picked up a hard fought 78-68 Skyline Conference win over visiting Old Westbury on Thursday night.
Regina had a big first half for the Dolphins and helped the team build a 44-25 advantage after 20 minutes of action on Thursday. He went 5-for-5 from the floor in the first period, including 3-for-3 from behind the arc, on his way to 13 first half points. He also assisted on five baskets for the Mount, having a hand in 10 of the team's 17 makes before the break.
With Old Westbury holding a 4-2 lead in a sluggish start to the game, Mount Saint Vincent ripped off a 24-5 run covering just over seven minutes to take a 26-9 lead with 7:51 left before halftime. The Dolphins made nine field goals, including four three over the run, with Regina leading the way with eight points.
The Dolphins maintained a double-figure lead the remainder of the half and jumped out to its largest lead of the stanza on a
James Zuccaro (Gilbert, Ariz.) lay-in with five seconds left before the break. The bucket accounted for two of the team's 14 paint points in the first 20 minutes.
The Mount shot just over 53-percent before halftime and canned half of its 12 three-point field goal attempts in the period. Zuccaro scored eight points and
Jamir Ferebee (Staten Island, N.Y.) and
Andrew Curiel (Bronx, N.Y.) each totaled seven points for the Mount.
Mount Saint Vincent got out to its largest lead of the game in the first minute of the second half when Ferebee converted a layup to spread the Dolphins' lead to 46-25.
Mount Saint Vincent kept a double-figure lead in the second half until the 5:10 mark when Reynaldo Walters converted a layup to bring the visitors to within 60-51.
A Mark Gjonlekaj layup got Old Westbury as close as six points with 2:05 left in regulation, but a Ferebee basket and two free-throws from
Ammad Alkhulaidi (Brooklyn, N.Y.) nudged the Mount Saint Vincent lead back to 10 points with 1:13 left.
Gjonlekaj hit one more three-point field goal to get Old Westbury to within eight points, but two free-throws from Ferebee with 20 seconds left secured the final 10 point decision for the Dolphins.
After shooting over 53-percent in the first half, Mount Saint Vincent was held to a 33.3-percent effort after halftime. The Mount outscored Old Westbury by 10 from the free-throw line in the second half, going 22-for-30 after the break.
Regina finished the night 6-for-6 from the floor and 4-for-4 from three-point field range, scoring in double-figures for the first time this season. He added four rebounds, six helpers and steal to the victory.
Ferebee also netted a career-high on Thursday scoring 18 points on the strength of a 10-for-14 effort from the free-throw line. He finished with eight rebounds and a blocked shot. Zuccaro finished with 16 points, totaling two assists, two steals and a block.
Alkhulaidi led the team with nine rebounds and chipped in with six points and
Madison Martinez (Atlanta, Ga.) came off the bench to score nine points, going 3-for-4 from three-point range.
Old Westbury was led in the game by 14 points from Gjonlekaj and Walters and received seven points and eight rebounds from Justin Mize.
The win on Thursday improves Mount Saint Vincent's overall record to 14-6 overall and its league mark to 10-3. Next up for the Mount is a trip to Mount Saint Mary on Saturday. Tip-off with the Knights is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
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