Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. – College of Mount Saint Vincent senior guard Dino Johnson (Fort Johnson, N.Y.) netted a career-high 28 points and became the 14th member of the 1,000 point club at Mount Saint Vincent in the Dolphins' come from behind 82-72 victory at Bard on Thursday night. Johnson led five Mount Saint Vincent players in double-figures on the night as the Dolphins picked up their 15th victory of the season.
After trailing by as many as six points and shooting just 38.5-percent from the field before halftime, Mount Saint Vincent rebounded to score 56 points in the second half and shoot nearly 44-percent overall and red-hot 61.5-percent from three-point range.
Trailing 30-26 at halftime, Mount Saint Vincent came out in the second half and quickly went on a 13-0 run to take a nine point advantage after one of seven second half triples from Johnson. After being held to just three points in the first half, Johnson went 7-for-13 overall and 7-for-11 from long distance in the second half on his way to 25 points in the period.
After taking the lead, Mount Saint Vincent would extend it to as many as 14 points at the midway point of the second half, but Bard would put together a final push to get within five points after a Jeremy Arnestein layup with 5:40 left in regulation.
From that point, Mount Saint Vincent would go on a 14-5 spurt keyed by two more Johnson triples to get its lead back to a comfortable 14 points with just under three minutes remaining. Johnson would get his career-best 28th and 1,000th career tally in the final minute on a free-throw.
In addition to his career-high point total, Johnson matched a career-high with eight field goals made and set another new career mark with eight three-point field goals made. He rounded out his historic night with four rebounds, a pair if assists and a steal.
Freshman Maxxwell Faircloth (Bronx, N.Y.) continued his strong recent play on Thursday with 17 points, including 11 after halftime. He posted his second double-double of the season against the Raptors after pulling down a career-high 18 rebounds.
Cody Gauvard (Rockaway, N.Y.) scored 11 points in the win and Shaquille Cunningham (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and George Naldjieff (Miami, Fla.) each totaled 10 as all five starters scored in double-figures. Freshman Chris Bonaventura (Staten Island, N.Y.) came off the bench to hand out a career-high eight assists for the Dolphins.
Bard was led by Christian Marghella who poured in 19 points to go along with six rebounds. Matt Shubert added 13 points, while Frank Stortini pulled down 12 rebounds. Yonah Greenstein handed out a team-high five assists for the Raptors and added five points.
Overall in the game, Mount Saint Vincent shot 41.8-percent from the field overall and an even 50-percent from behind the arc. The Dolphins also forced 17 Bard turnovers in the game and turned those into 23 points.
The win sends Mount Saint Vincent to 15-8 overall on the season and to 10-8 in Skyline Conference play. The Dolphins will be back on the floor again on Saturday when they travel to St. Joseph's-L.I. for a Skyline Conference battle. Tip-off in Patchogue is set for 5:00 p.m.