With two minutes remaining in the first half and the host team leading 31-30, sophomore center Terrin Johnson (Curtis/Brooklyn, NY) scored on a putback and a layup to but the Yellow Jackets firmly ahead. A Nkosi Hamilton (August Martin/Queens, NY) free throw with five ticks left provided the margin at the break, 36-30.
In the second stanza, with the lead at five, 45-40 only three minutes in, junior guard Clyde Forteau (St. Raymond’s/Bronx, NY) hit a three-pointer, followed a minute later by his own offensive rebound and basket to raise the lead to ten points, 50-40. Forteau finished with 13 points, his fourth straight game in double digits.
Staten Island (8-5, 4-1 CUNY) cut the deficit to four points, 75-71 on back-to-back three-pointers by sophomore guard Robert Mesjasz (St. Peter’s/Staten Island, NY) with just under three minutes left in the game. But the Dolphins suffered a critical loss when three-time CUNYAC all-star guard Mike Stewart (Westinghouse/Brooklyn, NY) fouled out of the game with 2:03 remaining. Stewart finished with team-highs of 17 points and seven rebounds, but was forced into an uncharacteristic seven turnovers by City Tech’s full court press.
CUNYAC’s reigning Player of the Year, senior center Shacun Malave (DeWitt Clinton/Bronx, NY) hit two free throws after Stewart’s foul, giving the Jackets a 77-71 lead and an Otis Saylee (Seward Park/New York, NY) layup off of a Malave defensive rebound put the game away fore NYCCT. Saylee ended up with 11 points and seven boards in the contest.
City Tech was actually led in the game by forward Jason Senior (Satellite Academy/Brooklyn, NY) with 19 points and six assists. Senior, a 2003-04 CUNYAC all-star, hit two treys in opening minutes of the game when the Yellow Jackets were struggling on offense.
The Dolphins received 16 points from both Mesjasz and senior Mike Mebavlakis (FDR/Brooklyn, NY), along with 14 points from center John Smith (Bayside/Queens, NY), but the squad was out rebounded significantly by City Tech, 38-27. Nevablakis and Smith, who average 20 rebounds combined a night were held to only ten.
City Tech returns to the court on Monday, January 17 to face Baruch College (11:00 am women’s game & 1:00 pm men’s game) in an early daytime CUNYAC doubleheader at the Klitgord Center.