Staten Island, NY – Junior forward
JONATHAN ARTHUR (Maplewood, NJ/Colmbia) posted a double-double with a season-high 25 points along with 14 rebounds, however, the Montclair State men's basketball team fell to College of Staten Island, 66-64 on Wednesday evening. The loss dropped the Red Hawks to 1-3 on the season.
The Dolphins got out to a hot start, scoring the game's first 10 points and eventually increasing their lead to 17, 22-5, just 9:15 into the contest. Sophomore Sean Weismuller sparked the club early on, dropping in 7 of his team-high 17 points during the spurt. The Red Hawks refused to go quietly, however, putting together a 20-7 run in the following 10:45 to cut the Dolphins lead to four, 29-25, at the half.
The second half saw the Dolphins build their lead back up to 11, 54-43, with 7:41 remaining in the game, but Montclair State used a 14-5 run over the ensuing four minutes to cut CSI's lead to two, 59-57, with 3:46 remaining in the game. From there, sophomore forward Gari Blackett would score two consecutive key baskets to give the Dolphins a four point advantage once again, 63-59, with 2:56 remaining in regulation.
Eventually, the Dolphins saw their lead cut to one point, 65-64, with 16 seconds remaining. The Red Hawks seemed poised to take the lead, but Arthur was called for traveling with three seconds remaining.
After a CSI timeout, senior guard Mike Jones inbounded the ball to junior guard Robert Mesjasz, who received the bounce pass and seemed to have a clear path to the basket but decided to dribble the ball away from the hoop, eventually getting fouled with 0.5 remaining on the clock.
Mesjasz hit the first free-throw, but missed the second.
CHARLES MILLER (Linden, NJ/Linden) grabbed the rebound and heaved a desperation 90-footer that fell short, and the Dolphins benched erupted as CSI held on for the victory.
Weismuller led the Dolphins with 17, while Blackett finished with another double-double, dropping in 11 points to go with 10 boards.
The Red Hawks return to action on Friday, December 1 as they face Williams (MA) in the opening game of the Skidmore Invitational in Saratoga Springs, NY at 5:30 pm.
