Box Score
Brooklyn, NY -- Brooklyn College (6-1; 2-0 CUNYAC) overcame a five point half-time deficit to defeat the College of Staten Island (3-4; 0-2 CUNYAC) by a score of 72-70 on Thursday night in the CUNY / Con Edison Game of the Week.
Down 13-11 in the game's first five minutes, the Bridges put together a 13-4 run, keyed by a Richard-Jean Baptiste (St. John's Prep / Queens, NY) three-pointer and capped by a Daniel Nisbett (Michael J. Petrides / Staten Island, NY) lay-up to take a 24-17 lead midway through the opening stanza. The Dolphins responded by scoring 12 points in the next three minutes, knotting the game at 29. The lead changed hands three times in the next five possessions, before CSI embarked on a 9-3 rally to close the period, taking a 39-34 advantage into the break.
Staten Island senior Robert Mesjasz (St. Peter's / Staten Island, NY) scored to open the second half, giving the Dolphins their largest lead of the game, 41-34. The Bridges then rallied, scoring 21 of the next 33 points over the next seven minutes to take a 55-53 lead. CSI junior Sean Weismuller (James Madison / Brooklyn, NY) , the CUNYAC Pre-Season Player of the Year converted back-to-back jumpers to put Staten Island on top again.
A Weismuller free throw again gave Staten Island a five point cushion, 70-65 with 3:15 remaining. Sophomore guard Tommy Guerin (St. Edmund Prep / Brooklyn, NY) then hit two foul shots, ahead of a Jean-Baptiste lay-up, pulling the Bridges to within one point in the final two minutes. Brooklyn coach Steve Podias called a time-out to set up his defense, which responded by forcing three straight turnovers. The last one won the game for the Brides, as junior Reginald Posey (Msgr. Scanlon / Bronx, NY) recorded his third steal of the game and took the ball to the hole for an uncontested lay-up, giving BC a 71-70 lead. Following a CSI timeout, the Brooklyn defense again clamped down as Nisbett stole the ball with just three seconds remaining on the clock. Nisbett was fouled and made the first free throw. His second attempt drew iron, but was rebounded by Posey, who dribbled out the remaining seconds before CSI could steal or foul.
Jean-Baptiste led all scorers with 26 points, shooting 10-of-16 from the floor. Guerin netted 13 points, while senior Corey McFarlane (Transit Tech, Brooklyn, NY) chipped in with 11 points and a team-high seven assists as the team excited the packed house at Roosevelt Gymnasium. Brooklyn played stellar defense throughout the game, forcing the Dolphins into committing 29 turnovers and holding them without a point over the final 3:15 of play. Dolphins guard Robert Mesjasz led CSI with 19 points in the loosing cause, while Weismuller and Gari Blackett (Brooklyn College Academy / Brooklyn, NY) each had 13.
The Bridges take a 23 day break to take final exams and celebrate the holidays before ruturning to the court on Saturday, December 29 at SUNY Maritime College. They return home on January 3, playing CUNYAC rival New York City College of Technology at 7:30 pm.
