Riverdale, N.Y. – Senior Antonio Johnson (Fort Johnson, N.Y.) scored a game-high 23 points and was one of three players to score in double-figures as the College of Mount Saint Vincent Men's Basketball team remained unbeaten in conference play with a 77-71 home win over Sage on Wednesday night.
Mount Saint Vincent got off to a quick start and used a Johnson jumper to move in front 10-4 in the first five minutes of play. Sage answered with a 15-0 run over a six minute stretch to take its largest lead of the game, at 19-10, with 8:44 left before halftime. Sage went 7-for-12 from the floor over the run and featured seven different scorers.
Trailing by nine, Mount Saint Vincent would not move in front again until the final three minutes of the first half when a pair of Johnson free-throws gave the Dolphins a 27-26 lead. The Mount would spread its lead to 35-29 in the final 10 seconds of the half when Jamir Ferebee (Staten Island, N.Y.) converted a three-point play to get the Dolphins into the intermission ahead by six points.
Although Mount Saint Vincent shot just 34.5-percent from the floor in the first half, it converted on 12 of its 13 chances from the free-throw line. Sage went just 1-for-6 from the charity stripe before halftime and was outscored by the Dolphins in second chance opportunities 7-2. Johnson led all scorers at the break with 13 points.
The Dolphins did not surrender the lead in the second half and quickly built its advantage to a game-high 11 points on a Madison Martinez (Atlanta, Ga.) three-pointer that put the Mount in front 40-29 in the first minute of the second stanza.
The Gators would get the game under double-figures on Andre Robinson lay-in the possession following the Martinez triple and would get the Mount Saint Vincent advantage down to a single point on a Jorrdan McCray conversion with just over three minutes left in regulation time.
Following the McCray bucket, Ferebee would convert three free-throws to get the Dolphins in front 66-62 and Johnson canned a three-pointer with 1:28 left to play that pushed the Mount Saint Vincent lead to 69-62. The Dolphins would go 6-for-6 from the free-throw line, including four conversions from Ferebee, in the final minute to secure the victory.
The Dolphins shot 45.8-percent from the floor in the second half and 41.7-percent from three-point range on their way to finishing the game converting at a 39.6-percent clip. The Mount outscored Sage 15-8 from the free-throw line after halftime, with Ferebee going 8-for-9 in the second 20 minutes.
Johnson finished off his third 20-plus point performance of the season going 6-for-13, including two three-pointers, from the floor and 9-for-11 from the free-throw line. He added a pair of rebounds in the victory.
Ferebee and James Zuccaro (Gilbert, Ariz.) each closed the night with 15 points with Zuccaro matching the team-high with eight rebounds. He finished the game 6-for-11 from the floor with a pair of triples, while Ferebee converted a career-high nine free-throws, going 9-for-11 from the charity stripe.
Freshman Ammad Alkhulaidi (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored eight points and hauled in eight rebounds for the Dolphins and paced the team with three assists and three blocked shots. Jesse Regina (Staten Island, N.Y.) contributed a pair of assists and two steals to Wednesday's winning effort.
Sage, who shot 43.5-percent from the field, was led by 19 points from Robinson and received 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds from Kai Deans. Travis Gill led all players on the night with four assists.
The Gators made six more field goals than the Dolphins in the game and three-pointers were even at 8-8. Mount Saint Vincent's big advantage came at the free-throw line where it outscored Sage 27-9, with Sage shooting just 42.9-percent for the game.
Wednesday's win pushes Mount Saint Vincent to 8-2 overall and to a perfect 4-0 in league play. The Dolphins will look to extend its conference winning streak to five games on Saturday when it travels to Old Westbury. Tip-off with the Panthers is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.