Riverdale, N.Y. – The College of Mount Saint Vincent Men's Basketball team fought its way past Maritime on Thursday by a score of 87-80 and picked up its third straight win at home in the process. Four Dolphins scored in double-figures with Cody Gauvard (Rockaway, N.Y.) and Chris Bonaventura (Staten Island, N.Y.) leading the way with 17 points each.
Neither team could pull away in the tightly contested tilt, with the largest lead of the night coming with under two minutes to play in the contest. A Sean Caputo (Staten Island, N.Y.) triple pushed the Dolphins in front 79-70 at the 1:54 mark of the period.
The Privateers gained their largest advantage of the night with just under seven minutes to play in regulation when Hugh Byrd converted a jump shot to push the visitors out in front 65-57 with 6:49 showing on the clock.
In the first half each team made a series of runs before seeing its opponent respond to take the advantage. After falling behind 9-2 in the opening moments of the contest, the Dolphins used a 19-6 run over a five minute stretch to pull in front 21-15 at the midway point of the frame. Caputo and Stephen Oliver (Brooklyn, N.Y.) each canned a triple over that span to spark the Mount.
Down by six, Maritime answered eight back with a 10-2 spurt capped by a Bill Sherwood trey at 7:06 of the half to retake a two point lead. The Maritime lead would grow to six points after a Byrd lay-in with 5:44 left before the Dolphins answered back with a run to close the period.
Trailing 29-23 after the Byrd conversion, the Mount scored 15 of the final 22 points of the half to sneak to the locker room with a 38-36 lead. Yeuri Santos (New York, N.Y.) scored the final four points of the period for the Dolphins, including a put back at the horn to secure the lead after 20 minutes.
Each team shot the ball effectively in the first half, with the Dolphins shooting a red-hot 53.1-percent from the floor. The Dolphins also used an 8-4 edge on the offensive glass to gain a 16-8 advantage in second chance points.
Coming out of the intermission, Mount Saint Vincent used a Mark Waite (Chicago, Ill.) layup and a Bonaventura triple to open a seven point lead at the 18:20 mark of the second stanza. The Dolphins would match the seven point edge after a pair of Gauvard free-throws at the 14:41 mark, before Maritime retook the lead just over a minute later.
With the Mount leading 50-43, Maritime got a three from Sherwood and four points from Mike McSloy to key a 9-1 run and pull in front 52-51 with 13:16 to play. The visitors lead would grow to the game-high eight points after the Byrd tally at 6:49 before the Dolphins answered yet again.
Struggling from the free-throw line for much of the day, Mount Saint Vincent knocked in 10 from the line in the final 6:21, including a stretch of seven straight. Shaquille Cunningham (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored seven of his 13 points in the final six minutes, including a layup at the 4:04 mark the pushed the Dolphins in front for good at 68-67.
The Dolphins finished the game shooting 48.4-percent overall and went 6-for-16 from behind the arc. The Mount continued to struggle from the charity stripe on Wednesday, going just 21-for-40. For the season, the team is converting just 58.7-percent of its chances.
Bonaventura played a strong game for the Dolphins and finished with a season-high 17 points on 6-for-13 shooting. He also handed out five assists on the night against just a pair of turnovers.
Gauvard continued his strong recent play with 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting and also grabbed five rebounds. Caputo and Cunningham rounded out the quartet in double-figures with 12 and 13 points respectively. Caputo knocked down half of the team's three-pointers and each player swiped a pair of steals.
Waite had a strong all-around game with eight points and a game-high 15 rebounds to go along with three assists. Santos contributed eight points and three boards in just 11 minutes of work.
Maritime shot 48.5-percent overall on the night and received a game-high 26 points from McSloy who entered the night second in the league in scoring average. Byrd finished with 18 tallies and Sherwood finished up with 11. Sherwood also led all players in the game with four steals.
Mount Saint Vincent rounded out the win with a 16-10 advantage on the offensive glass and a 26-15 edge in second chance points. The Mount Saint Vincent bench also continued its strong play, outscoring Maritime's 37-11. Over the past four games the Dolphins' bench is averaging 46 points per game.
The win is Mount Saint Vincent's third in its last four outings and improves its overall record to 6-11 and its mark in Skyline Conference play to 4-6. The Dolphins will hit the road for a Saturday afternoon match-up at NYU-POLY. Tip-off with the Blue Jays is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.