2/1/2007 - (Riverdale, NY) - After nearly three months of seeing his squad hang tough with some of the best teams on their 2006-07 schedule,  Mount Saint Vincent Head Coach Michael Murphy finally got his wish on Thursday night. Not only did the Mount score a 96-58 win over Centenary College to break a 16-game losing streak, but they turned in a performance of effort and execution that can only be described as the most impressive showing by a Mount Saint Vincent Men's Basketball team during Murphy's two-year tenure as Head Coach. This wasn't just a win, it was complete domination as the Dolphins stopped competing like a young but talented team trying to learn the college game, and for a brief moment on Thursday night looked like they are destined to fulfill the potential that Murphy has been touting since the earliest days of the season. 

Sophomore Tim Biolsi provided a huge spark off the bench, scoring 16 points and adding five assists and three steals as the Mount Saint Vincent Men's Basketball team broke a 16-game losing streak with a 96-58 win over Centenary College on Thursday night during a game played at Mount Saint Vincent. The 2-17 Dolphins will look to make it two in a row on Saturday night when they travel to arch-rival Yeshiva for an 8:00 p.m. game.

With the win, Mount Saint Vincent is now 2-17 overall and 1-10 in Skyline Conference play, but after Thursday's effort it is clear that there may not be a 2-17 team in the nation with the upside that Mount Saint Vincent possesses, and heading into Saturday night's showdown at Yeshiva there is a renewed sense of confidence and purpose surrounding the young Dolphins.

Mount Saint Vincent left little doubt that this was going to be anything less than a Dolphin victory against a Centenary team that beat the Mount in the final seconds of play on Dec. 6. The Dolphins scored the game's first six points, and despite a pesky early effort by the Cyclones, the Dolphins never relinquished the lead thanks to an overwhelming defensive effort that forced Centenary (3-15, 1-9 Skyline Conference) to shoot 35 times from three-point range out of 61 total shots. The Cyclones had some early success from outside of three-point range, and when senior Kyle Warner (Severn, MD/Annapolis HS) converted a three-point attempt with 9:43 left in the first half, Mount Saint Vincent led 19-17.

But that was the last time Centenary would make a stand. After Warner's three-pointer, the Mount went on a 14-0 run during a six-minute span to make it a 33-17 game. The run would actually extend to 23-4 during the remainder of the first half and the Dolphins led 42-21 at the intermission.

The second half saw much of the same as the hot-shooting Dolphins did not relent and continued their dominance on the boards. For the game, Mount Saint Vincent enjoyed a sensational 59-29 rebounding edge, and shot 51% from the floor. Freshman Russ Holland (Brooklyn, NY/Westminster), making his first career start, had a monster night as he notched his first career double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds. He had seven rebounds during the game's first four minutes, allowing the Dolphins to take the early advantage. Four other Dolphins scored in double figures as junior Derek Charlton (Yonkers, NY/St. Raymond's) notched his seventh double-double of the 2006-07 season with 21 points and 12 rebounds, and he also added three steals. Sophomore Tim Biolsi (Bronx, NY/Cardinal Spellman) provided a spark off the bench with 16 points, five assists, and three steals, and freshmen Lester Owens (Manalapan, NJ/Manalapan HS) and Kevin Garlan (Jackson Heights, NY/Archbishop Molloy) also had big games. Owens scored 12 points (on 4 for 5 shooting) and added five assists and four steals, while Garlan scored eight points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Freshman P.J. Ratzke (Riverhead, NY/Riverhead HS) also broke double-digits in scoring with 10 points.

Mount Saint Vincent returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 3 when they travel to Yeshiva University for an 8:00 p.m. tip-off.