STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Jordan Ortega and Zachary Heiss finished with 16 points apiece and Terence Johnston added 15 points but clutch free throws by the College of Staten Island (15-4, 10-1 CUNYAC) allowed the Dolphins to slip past the City College of New York (7-13, 3-9 CUNYAC), 61-58, on Wednesday evening at the College of Staten Island Sports and Recreation Center.
 
Ortega went 7-of-12 from the field and added eight rebounds, two steals and two assists while Heiss drained four three-pointers and Johnston added two jumpers from beyond the arc. The CSI big men defended the paint all game, finishing with 12 blocked shots but the Beavers defense came up big in the final minutes, holding the Dolphins without a made field goal in the final 2:44 minutes of the contest.
 
The Beavers got off to a quick start, taking a double-digit lead early in the opening period before CCNY hit a dry spell, allowing CSI to head into halftime with a 29-19 lead.
 
However, after trailing by as much as nine with 13:40 remaining in the game, Ortega hit a layup, Heiss connected on back-to-back jumpers and CCNY hit six free-throws while holding CSI cold offensively to tie the game at 47 with 7:05 left to play.
 
After a Dolphins layup, Johnston drove to the basket and was fouled on a made layup, putting the junior on the line as CCNY looked for its first lead in the second half.  CSI tied the game and the Beavers and Dolphins traded baskets until Staten Island took a four-point lead with 23 seconds remaining.
 
With 15 seconds left to play and down four, Johnston connected on a deep three-pointer to cut CCNY's deficit to one. CSI connected on its two free throws, giving the Dolphins a three-point lead but Paul Dail, who finished with seven assists, could not connect on the game-tying three, allowing Staten Island to preserve its lead and the victory.
 
The Beavers return to Nat Holman Gymnasium for CCNY's Fourth Annual Alumni Day on Saturday, Feb. 2 at 5:30 p.m. A special ceremony honoring the 75^th anniversary of the NCAA Men's Championship and will also honor the 1949-50 NCAA and NIT CCNY Championship team, the only team to ever win both the NCAA and NIT Championships in the same season.
 
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