Riverdale, NY - The College of Mount Saint Vincent's basketball team was looking to put their last loss behind them as they had St. Joseph's College Brooklyn come to town for Skyline Conference action. The Dolphins had the chance to keep their playoff hopes alive on a night where they honored their three seniors, Raiquis Harris, Mamadou Mariko and David Collins.
The first half was as even a battle as you will see, with the Dolphins and Bears trading buckets for the majority of the 20 minutes. Both teams shot over 40% from the floor and both saw their leads change 11 times. The Dolphins received an impressive first half from their graduating class, as Harris, Mariko and Collins all helped keep their team up by one point going into halftime.
Harris paced all Dolphins with nine points on three of six shooting while Collins and Mariko combined for 14 points and eight boards. Sophomore Kalos Evans came off the bench and added seven points of his own while Kelvin Turner-Harris, Vinny Tavella and Dorian Robinson added three points apiece.
The Bears scored their first three shots out of halftime but the Dolphins battled back to even things up once again. Mariko then gave his team the lead when he knocked down a pair of free throws at 14:27, making it a one possession contest. From there, CMSV went on a 7-0 run that was highlighted by a big three from Harris to get the crowd going, making it a 63-56 game.
The Dolphins once again got on the scoreboard, as Makai Johnson converted a big three pointer to extend his team's lead to 10. At this point, CMSV's lead ballooned to 15 off of key shots from Evans and Collins, as well as aggressive defense on the other end of the floor.
To their credit, the Bears battled back all the way to make it a three point game, but clutch free throws from Harris were the difference, resulting in the 88-82 win.
Both Harris and Collins starred on Senior Night, as the duo of graduates scored 20 points apiece. Harris also had four rebounds, four assists and two steals while Collins grabbed 10 boards. Evans compiled 11 points in a strong performance off the bench while Qwame Thompson added nine points and seven rebounds.
The Dolphins' playoff hopes remain alive. Their next order of business comes in their regular season finale this Saturday when they travel back to Long Island to take on Farmingdale State.