2/11/2006 - (Farmingdale, NY) – Moments after the conclusion of Saturday’s Men’s Basketball game between Mount Saint Vincent and Farmingdale State, two things were crystal clear: The Dolphins are going to be a very dangerous team should they advance to the Skyline Conference playoffs, and senior James Mooney (Bronx, NY/Iona Prep) is going to make the final week of his storied career one to remember. The senior scored a team-high 39 points and became the second men’s basketball player in Mount Saint Vincent history to break 1,700 career points, but the Dolphins dropped their third consecutive game, 91-79 to the Skyline Conference leading Rams during a game played at Farmingdale State. To say the least the game was closer than the score indicated, and should this be a preview of a potential first round Skyline Conference playoff match-up, it is clear that Farmingdale will not have an easy road to the Conference crown.

Senior James Mooney scored 39 points and become the second Men's Basketball player in Mount Saint Vincent history to score 1,700 career points, but the Dolphins lost their third straight game, 91-79 to Farmingdale State on Saturday. Mooney has now scored 1,722 career points, 61 points behind Danny Costello '92 for the Mount Saint Vincent career scoring record. Mooney has two games remaining to catch and/or surpass Costello as the Dolphins travel to Manhattanville on Tuesday and host Yeshiva on Saturday for Senior Night.

Mooney led the Dolphins to an early lead that extended to 11 points with seven minutes remaining in the first half. However, Farmingdale State has a superstar of its own, and senior Kenny McMillan (Bronx, NY/All Hallows) had an incredible day himself, scoring a career-high 42 points and adding 14 rebounds. Mooney and McMillan went tit-for-tat throughout the game as Mooney netted his first double-double of the 2005-06 season, adding 13 rebounds to his efforts.

Farmingdale State (18-4, 12-1 Skyline Conference) outscored the Mount 46-37 during the second half despite the fact that Mount Saint Vincent shot 44% while the Rams shot 36% from the floor during that stretch. The difference today was turnovers as the Dolphins turned the ball over 29 times, while Farmingdale turned the ball over only 17 times. Farmingdale also enjoyed a 51-41 rebounding edge.

Also enjoying a fine game for the Mount was senior Charles Hernandez (Bronx, NY/Msgr. Scanlan), who added 14 points and six rebounds.

But the story of the day was Mooney, who passed Sean Campbell '95 for second place on the all-time scoring list in Mount Saint Vincent history during the first half, and early in the second half became the second Dolphin in the history of the program to score 1,700 career points. He has now scored 1,722 career points, and trails Danny Costello '92 by 61 points with two games remaining. The Dolphins travel to Manhattanville College on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 7:00 p.m., and then host Yeshiva on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 8:30 p.m. in their regular season finale. Should Mooney have another fine outing against Manhattanville on Tuesday, he will have the opportunity to break the record in front of the home crowd on Senior Night. While scoring 31 points per game is a tough task for any basketball player, Mooney has done so seven times this season, including 30 or more points during the Mount’s last two games. The final two games will also bear a tremendous significance for the team’s future as the Dolphins are currently in ninth place in the Skyline Conference, mere percentage points behind eighth place USMMA-Kings Point with eight teams advancing to the post-season. A 2-0 finish to the season by the Mount could be their only way to insure a trip to the playoffs.