Riverdale, N.Y. – Junior Cody Gauvard (rockaway, N.Y.) led five players in double-figures as the College of Mount Saint Vincent Men's Basketball team snapped a four game losing streak with a convincing 99-52 league win over NYU-POLY on Saturday. The Mount shot nearly 59-percent from the floor overall in the game and an even 60-percent from behind the arc.
The Dolphins did not trail in the contest and after a sluggish start used a 12-4 run in the middle stages of the first half to open a 26-15 advantage. The run was keyed by three-pointers from Dino Johnson (Fort Johnson, N.Y.) and Sean Caputo (Staten Island, N.Y.).
The Blue Jays would answer with a run of their own to get their deficit down to five points after a Eddie Johnson jumper with 5:34 left before the break, but the Mount closed the period on a 13 -3 run to carry a 44-29 edge into halftime.
Mount Saint Vincent shot a blistering 60.7-percent from the floor in the first half and was led by Gauvard who poured in 14 of his game-high point total on 6-for-8 shooting in the opening stanza. In the first 20 minutes, Mount Saint Vincent's starters combined for 36 points on 14-for-21 shooting.
The Dolphins did not let the visitors any closer then 12 points in the second half and quickly jumped in front by 20 points just four minutes into the period after a Caputo three. The Mount would run out to its largest lead of the day, at 47 points, after one of four Stephen Oliver (Brooklyn, N.Y.) triples with just over two minutes to play in the contest.
Mount Saint Vincent shot 56.8-percent in the second half, but made seven of their nine triples in the final 20 minutes as it outscored NYU-POLY 55-23. Johnson and Oliver each scored 12 points after the break for the Dolphins.
Overall in the game, Mount Saint Vincent shot a season-high 58.5-percent from the field and also a season-best 60-percent (9-for-15) from behind the arc. The Mount defense also had as strong game, allowing the Blue Jays to shoot just 36.7-percent from the floor. The Dolphins also did not allow a three-point field goal for the first time since February 20, 2010 when Maritime went 0-for-6.
Gauvard finished the game 8-for-11 from the field on his way to 18 points and also grabbed six rebounds. Chris Bonaventura (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Shaquille Cunningham (Brooklyn, N.Y.) each scored 10 as three of the five starters combined for 38 points.
Johnson came off the bench to score in double-figures for the second straight game after fishing with 15 on 7-for-11 shooting and Oliver poured in a new career-high 12 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting day from behind the arc.
Mark Waite (Chicago, Ill.) finished the day with a career-high eight assists to go along with nine rebounds and George Naldjieff (Miami, Fla.) and Maxxwell Faircloth (Bronx, N.Y.) each blocked a pair of shots in addition to scoring seven and nine points respectively.
The win improves Mount Saint Vincent to 13-6 overall on the season and 8-6 in league play. The Dolphins will look to maintain Saturday's momentum on Wednesday night when they host Farmingdale St. Tip-off if slated for 7:00 p.m.