Riverdale, NY – The College of Mount Saint Vincent's men's basketball team looked to make it two straight non-conference wins, but that feat will have to wait another day. Despite a valiant effort from the Dolphins, Defiance College was able to come to Riverdale and take home the 75-72 victory.

Despite taking a road trip from Ohio to New York, the Yellow Jackets came out ready to go, keeping pace with the Dolphins, who were looking to win their second straight contest. Both sides traded leads in the early going, with Defiance seeing their lead reach seven points at the 10:53 mark. CMSV began their comeback when the bench unit came in and brought the necessary energy and hustle needed.

After Jalen Leis knocked down a pair of free throws to make it 16-11, Dillon Hod saw his defense turn to offense. The sophomore guard intercepted a Yellow Jackets pass at midcourt and took it all the way to the other end of the floor, good for his first basket of the contest. The group continued to impress when sophomore Adrian Rraci tied things up with a three pointer, his first points of the season after missing the first nine games due to injury. Hod would once more make his presence known when he grabbed a rebound and turned it into an assist for big Joseph Carrier, making it a one point game.

The starters re-entered the game and picked up where the reserves left off. A Cabezudo layup gave the Dolphins their first lead since the early minutes, with a successful pair of Aaron Darab free throws attempts extending CMSV's advantage. The Dolphins left the court at halftime up 32-28.

CMSV were firing offensively upon the start of the second half. Darab caught fire from beyond the arc, knocking down three pointers in three of the team's four possessions at the 16 minute mark. Cabezudo sprinkled in four points of his own, putting the Dolphins up by nine.

From there, Defiance would battle back, with both sides trading one poession leads throughout the remainder of the contest. The Dolphins would last have a lead at the three minute mark before the Yellow Jackets were able to secure free throw attempts in the final seconds of the game. Both Darab and Dan Porcic had clean looks to send the game to overtime as time expired, but neither were able to see their shots reach the bottom of the basket.

For the Dolphins, Cabezudo had yet another strong performance, with a team-high 25 points on 10 of 14 shooting. The junior guard also grabbed 10 rebounds – another team best – good for his second straight game with a double-double. Darab finished the afternoon with 18 points, including shooting 67% from three, to go along with six rebounds and four assists.

Hod once again stuffed the stat sheet off the bench with six points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal. Lewis and Sean Goodwin, who received his first start this season, combined for five blocks.

The Dolphins will use the holiday break to regroup before resuming game action on December 30 against Union College.