Gators fall at the hands of unbeaten Dolphins
Riverdale, NY--- After trailing at halftime for the first time this season, the College of Mount Saint Vincent Men's Basketball team erupted for 52 points in the second half on its way to an 89-71 win over Sage. Junior Cody Gauvard (Rockaway, N.Y.) led four Dolphins in double-figures with 22 points, while senior Dino Johnson (Fort Johnson, N.Y.) nailed six triples on his way to 20 points.
After the Mount scored the first four points of the contest, the Gators ran off the next 13 points to open a nine point advantage after a Ryan Sager jam with 13:12 left in the opening period. The Gators would extend their lead to as many as 13 points three times in the first half, with the last coming on a Lamont Garland jumper with just under seven minutes left before the half.
From that point the Dolphins closed the half with 22 of the final 32 points and took their first lead since 4-0 after a Johnson trey in the final minute. Up 37-36 a George Naldjieff (Miami, Fla.) foul sent senior Derick Faragon (Rotterdam Junction, NY/Schenectady) to the line where he converted both to send the visitors into the locker room with a 38-37 advantage.
Sage shot 42.9-percent in the opening period and converted 13 of its 16 free-throw chances to secure the lead. Faragon led all scorers at the break with 12 points, while Johnson tallied 11 to lead Mount Saint Vincent.
The Dolphins came out in the second half and shot an even 50-percent from the field, making five of their nine triples after the break. The Mount opened a quick 11 point lead in the first 3:50 of the second half after a 14-2 spurt highlighted by a pair of three-pointers from Johnson.
Sage would creep back to within three points in the middle stages of the second half after a pair of buckets from Ryan LaBelle (East Berne, NY/Berne-Knox-Westerlo) with nearly nine minutes left in regulation. The Dolphins would respond with a 23-9 run to extend its lead to 17, with Gauvard netting 11 points over that stretch. The Mount would go on to its largest lead of the contest after a Filipp Bochkov (Moscow, Russia) trey put the Dolphins up 87-67 in the final minute.
After shooting just 38.5-percent in the first half, Mount Saint Vincent finished the game at 44.0-percent from the floor and went 9-for-27 from behind the arc. The Dolphins did struggle from the charity stripe, converting just 14-for-25. Sage finished the night at 39.1-percent from the floor and went just 2-for-10 from distance.
Gauvard finished just four points shy of his career-high with 22 points and went 9-for-13 from the field. He also added four rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot. Johnson matched his career-high with his six three-pointers and also posted three assists, a pair of rebounds and two steals.
Omonya Onwe (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Shaquille Cunningham (Brooklyn, N.Y.) also posted double-figures on the night with 17 and 11 respectively. Onwe added eight rebounds, while Cunningham handed out three assists.
Naldjieff came off the bench to net six points and secure four rebounds, while sophomore Sean Caputo provided a spark off the bench for the Dolphins by swiping a career-high five steals and matching his career best with a team-high six assists on the night.
Sage (2-6, 0-4 Skyline) received a double-double from Sager who finished with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while Faragon posted a team-high 14 points and added eight boards and three assists. Garland finished off a strong evening with 12 points, while sophomore guard Jeff Stopera (Scotia, NY/Scotia Glenville) contributed nine points and handed out a game-high eight assists. In the second half, sophomore center Ryan Sager (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane) connected for nine points en route to 13 points for the game and 11 rebounds, tying his career-best effort on the boards. Senior Lamont Garland (Albany, NY/Colonie) added 12 points for the Gators in the contest.
