STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Closing out their conference-opening weekend, the D'Youville University men's basketball team fell to the College of Staten Island by a score of 96-77 Sunday afternoon.
 
The Saints (2-6, 0-2 ECC) were led offensive by Justin Moore (Oxford, Ala./Oxford) with 22 points while TI Scruggs (Huntsville, Ala/Hazel Green) had a career-high 15 points. Noah Hutchins (Buffalo, N.Y./IMG Academy) facilitated the offense with five assists. On the glass, Scruggs grabbed a career-high eight rebounds.
 
D'Youville found themselves in a 10-point hole early in the contest but were able to cut the deficit to two-possessions thanks in part to a three-pointer by Scruggs off the feed from Hutchins. The Dolphins got back out to an 11-point lead, but the Saints came marching back again. It was Hutchins finding Scruggs for another three-pointer to make it 28-22 with 10:03 left in the half.
 
CSI would gain a double-digit lead but D'Youville kept battling, making it a single digit lead on multiple occasions. The Dolphins would retake a 10-point lead with just over five minutes left in the first half and would take a 54-39 lead into the break.
 
Coming out of the half, the teams traded blows as DYU would continue the fight. The Saints were able to close the gap to 11 points with an emphatic jam from Elisha Warren (Woodhaven, Mich./Woodhaven) to make it a 56-45 game with 17:45 left in regulation.
 
Despite the score, D'Youville closed out the game strong, ending on a 5-0 run.
 
D'Youville went 23-for-67 (34.3 percent) from the field with Staten Island going 32-for-56 (57.1 percent) from the floor. The Dolphins had the slight edge on the glass, grabbing 35 rebounds to the Saints' 32.
 
DYU will be back in action this Friday, December 13th, as they host Mercy University at 7:45 p.m.