Riverdale, NY - The College of Mount Saint Vincent's men's basketball team failed to make it two straight wins on Saturday, losing to St. Joseph's University Long Island by the score of 60-58. Despite the result, the Dolphins showed tremendous effort it the waning minutes of the game, almost securing a win in the process.
CMSV is 4-8 overall through 12 games this season.
The Dolphins opened the first half in a sluggish fashion, but junior DJ Tucker was doing his best to bring the energy. The transfer was active on both ends of the floor, as the Boynton Beach, Florida native had three rebounds, two assists and a basket in the first five minutes of action.
It was, however, a defensive battle for the majority of the first half. Both the Dolphins and Golden Eagles shot 21% and 32% from the floor, respectively, with CMSV also generating seven turnovers. St. Joe's saw their lead balloon to nine points with 14 minutes left in the half, but the Dolphins continued to chip into the deficit.
As time wound down, James Mooney's squad was able to cut the Golden Eagles' lead to six, thanks in large part to free throws conversions from both Joshua Cabezudo and Dillon Hod.
The score was 25-19 in favor of the visitors at the break.
St. Joe's came out firing, which included an 11-4 run at the 16 minute mark to give them a double-digit advantage. The Dolphins continued to chip away - with Tucker, Hod and Adrian Rraci all converting shot attempts - but the Golden Eagles would consistently answer.
The tide began to turn in favor of CMSV with just two minutes left. Trailing by 11, Mooney employed a full court press, with the pressure remaining consistent once crossing half court. Rraci knocked down a big three to make it 53-45, which was followed up by a Sean Goodwin driving layup to cut things to six.
St. Joe's would score on two free throw attempts, but Rraci once again successfully shot a three. A Frank Camastro layup with less than a minute to go made it a four point game, but a failed and-one attempt kept it a two possession contest. A questionable charge call, a missed heave at the buzzer and successful free throw opportunities helped secure the win for the road team.
Tucker was all over the box score on Saturday afternoon, collecting 22 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals. Rraci, in just his third game of the season due to injury, had 12 points after going three of seven from three. Cabezudo recorded seven points and seven boards while Hod and Brian Rawlings combined for 11 points of their own.
The Dolphins, now 1-3 against the Skyline, will look to get back in the win column on the road against Old Westbury on Wednesday.
