Patchogue, N.Y. – The College of Mount Saint Vincent Men's Basketball team was defeated on the road Saturday evening at St. Joseph's-L.I. by a score of 104-82. Junior Cody Gauvard (Rockaway, N.Y.) led three Mount Saint Vincent players in double-figures with a game-high 22 points.
Mount Saint Vincent never led in the contest on Saturday and after a Steven Velazquez three-pointer pushed the Golden Eagles in front 5-2 in the first two minutes, St. Joseph's-L.I. never let the Mount closer then three points the rest of the contest.
St. Joseph's-L.I. shot just under 46-percent from the floor in the first half and went 9-for-17 from behind the arc to carry a 53-32 lead into halftime. Four of the five starters for the Golden Eagles scored in double-figures before the break, with Vincent Russo leading the way with 14 points.
The Dolphins would be able to put 50 points on the board in the second half, but the home standing Golden Eagles would shoot a red-hot 64.3-percent from the floor in the second stanza and knocked down five more triples to secure the victory. Mount Saint Vincent would not be able to get any closer then 17 points in the second half and have now dropped the last 11 meetings with the Golden Eagles.
All five St. Joseph's-L.I. starters scored at least 14 points in the game, with Oliver Laurent and Trey Black each netting 19. Russo and Chris Jimenez added 18 points each and Velasquez chipped in with 14. Jimenez led the team with nine rebounds and Black recorded a double-double after handing out a game-high 11 assists.
Gauvard finished the day 7-for-13 from the floor on his way to the game-high point total and also pulled down six rebounds. Maxxwell Faircloth (Bronx, N.Y.) scored in double-figures for the third time in four games after posting 15 points on Saturday to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds.
Senior Dino Johnson (Fort Johnson, N.Y.) added 12 points for the Dolphins, while Shaquille Cunningham (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Sean Caputo (Staten Island, N.Y.) each chipped in with nine. Cunningham also led the Dolphins with four assists.
Overall in the game, St. Joseph's-L.I. shot 53.8-percent from the field overall and a blistering 51.9-percent (14-for-27) from behind the arc. Mount Saint Vincent was held to just 38.2-percent shooting overall on the day. The Golden Eagles were also efficient from the charity stripe, going 20-for-22, while the Dolphins misfired on 11 of their 27 attempts.
The loss drops Mount Saint Vincent to 15-9 overall on the season and to 10-9 in Skyline Conference play. The Dolphins will close out the regular season on Monday night when they travel to Mount Saint Mary. Tip-off with the Knights in Newburgh is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.