The City College of New York men's basketball team (2-2 Overall, 0-0 CUNYAC) fought valiantly, rallying back from a 22-point deficit to pull to within five points with just under a minute to play, but eventually falling to the Golden Eagles of St. Joseph's College of Long Island (3-1 Overall, 0-0 Skyline) by a score of 102-94 Saturday afternoon at the Danzi Athletic Center in Patchogue, NY. The loss was the second straight defeat suffered by the Beavers.
The Golden Eagles set the tone for the game early, scoring the first eight points of the game over the opening 2:13 of the contest to grab a commanding lead early. St. Joseph's College of Long Island continued its stellar first half play from there, eventually upping its lead to 38-16 – its largest advantage of the afternoon – with still nine minutes remaining the session. The Beavers would rally back though, finishing the stanza on a 25-15 run to pull to within 12 – 53-41 – as the team's headed into the locker room at halftime.
In the second half, the Golden Eagles bent but didn't break, as CCNY was able to keep the game within reach for the majority of the second half. St. Joseph's looked like it was going to easily run away with the game in the waning minutes – taking an 89-73 lead with 3:21 to go on the clock. Over the ensuing 2:24 though, CCNY went on an 18-7 run to pull to within five – 96-91 – with 57 ticks to go. The Golden Eagles wouldn't let the Beavers get closer than that, though, eventually holding on for an eight point victory.
In the victory for the Golden Eagles, six players scored in double figures including standout Trey Black who put forth a very versatile performance, netting a game-high 25 points on eight-of-11 shooting to go along with five assists, four steals, and three rebounds in 37 minutes of action. Chris Jimenez added 17 points, seven steals, four rebounds, and three assists, and Steve Velazquez dropped in 17 points and seven rebounds while playing 40 minutes.
The 94 points was a season high for the Beavers, with four players scoring in double figures for CCNY. Standout Kenny Rubenstein continued his stellar early-season play with a team-high 22 points on six-of-14 shooting to go along with five steals and four rebounds. He also nailed seven of his eight shots from the charity stripe. Matas Rascius nailed eight-of-10 from the floor and added eight points (the standout is now shooting a staggering 85.7 percent from the floor through the season's first four games) and pulled down for rebounds, and Brendan Barile added 16 points. Veteran playmaker Vince Roberts posted a double-double with 15 points, 14 rebounds, and four assists.
It was all about the offense on Saturday afternoon, with the Golden Eagles connecting on 51.5 percent of their attempts from the floor (35-68) while CCNY made good on 51.6 percent of their attempts (33-64). Both teams also shot well from the line, with the Beavers connecting on 18 of their 24 shots from the line while St. Joseph's College of Long Island hit on 20 of their 28. CCNY dominated the boards, out-rebounding the Golden Eagles 43-31, but St. Joseph's College won the turnover battle, committing just 15 miscues while forcing 26 CCNY mistakes.
The Beavers will now head home ready to begin their conference portion of the 2010-2011 campaign as CCNY will take on Steven Schulman and his Lehman College Lightning at the Nat Holman Gymnasium, with game-time scheduled for 7:00pm. The night will also serve as Faculty/Staff/Student Appreciation Night, so all fans are encouraged to come down as there will be plenty of promotions, games, and giveaways.