Riverdale, N.Y. – The College of Mount Saint Vincent Men’s Basketball team closed out the regular
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Senior Nick DiMaggio |
The two teams struggled to score the ball in the early going on Saturday with the game tied at 5-5 with four and a half minutes gone by. From that point the Dolphins would net six of the next 10 points to open a 16-11 advantage with 11:14 left in the half.
That spurt was opened by a Sean Caputo (Staten Island, N.Y.) triple that broke a 7-7 tie, as the Dolphins would maintain the lead for the remainder of the half. DiMaggio would go on to convert a four point play with just over a minute left in the period that sent the Dolphins in front 31-25. Maritime responded with a hoop from Giovanni Hurley that sent the teams to the locker room with the Mount holding a 31-27 lead.
The Dolphins shot just under 41-percent in the first half and held the Privateers to just 35.3-percent shooting. The Mount knocked in three triples in the opening twenty minutes and outrebounded Maritime 25-21. DiMaggio and Caputo led the Mount attack with eight points apiece.
Mount Saint Vincent would maintain the lead in the second half until a pair of free-throws from Hurley pushed Maritime in front 38-37 with 15:27 left in regulation. DiMaggio quickly answered with a trey to give the Mount the lead back and start a 8-2 run that saw the Dolphins jump back out in front 45-40 with 14:25 to play. The run was keyed by a jumper from Shaquille Cunningham (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and a three pointer off an offensive rebound from DiMaggio.
Maritime would come back with the next five points to tie the score for the third time in the half, but would not be able to overtake the Dolphins until late in the period.
The Mount came back to go in front by seven at 60-53 when Joe Ecock (Brooklyn, N.Y.) converted a fast break bucket with just under six minutes to play. The Privateers then responded with an 8-0 run to take a 61-60 lead which they would not relinquish the rest of the afternoon.
Mount Saint Vincent would be able to three times in the final 3:17 but would not be able to get past Maritime. The Privateers, who shot less then 60-percent from the free-throw line, converted three straight attempts in the final 20 seconds to secure the win.
Maritime overcame the deficit at the half by shooting better then 53-percent from the floor in the second half on its way to a game effort of 43.8-percentt. Although the Privateers did not make a three pointer in the contest, they outscored the Mount 16-10 at the free-throw line.
Andre Cooper led all scorers with 23 points, with 12 of those coming in the second half. Adedokun Olanrewaju posted a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 16 rebounds, while Justin Bright handed out a game-high five assists.
DiMaggio finished the afternoon 5-for-12 from the floor, knocking down three triples for the Dolphins. He also grabbed a pair of boards and swiped two steals. Cunningham finished the day with 13 points, six rebounds and four assists and had a look at the horn to tie that would not fall.
Rounding out the four players in double-figures for the Mount were Caputo and Carson Miller (new Oxford, Pa.) with 10 and 12 points. Miller posted a double-double with 14 rebounds and also swatted four blocks.
The loss closes out the Mount’s season at 11-14 overall and 7-13 in Skyline Conference play.
