Box Score STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The Felician University men's basketball team used balanced scoring and a strong two-way effort to defeat the host College of Staten Island, 90-60, in non-conference action on Tuesday night at the CSI Sports and Recreation Center.
All five Felician starters scored in double figures, with junior swingman Justin Davis (Jersey City, N.J.) (nine rebounds) and sophomore guard Nas Amos (Newark, N.J.) (three steals) leading the way with 15 points apiece. The Golden Falcons, who shot 52 percent from the field and 81 percent at the foul line (17 of 21), limited Staten Island to 37-percent shooting and six free-throw attempts. Felician also owned a 39-29 rebounding edge and converted 17 Dolphin turnovers into 27 points.
The victory was the 69th in the career of seventh-year Felician head coach Ivan Lewis – all with the Golden Falcons. Lewis, a 2004 Felician graduate, tied Dave DeFerrari for the program record for coaching wins. His first attempt to break the mark will come on Friday, when his squad hosts nationally-ranked Fairmont State University at 5 p.m.
Following five early-lead changes on Tuesday, Felician (5-3) moved ahead to stay, 27-24, on a three-point field goal by junior Jay'von Jackson (Plainfield, N.J.) with eight minutes, 18 seconds, remaining in the first half. After CSI used a successful Michael Ashley (Atlanta, Ga.) jump shot to pull within 29-26, the Golden Falcons held the Dolphins scoreless for the period's final 7:14. Davis and Jackson tallied four points each during a half-closing 15-0 run that allowed Felician to lead, 44-26, at intermission.
Early second-half buckets by Jaylen Colon (Paterson, N.J.) and Dee-End McRae (Newark, N.J.) extended Felician's spread to 22 points before Chris Velasquez (Staten Island, N.Y.) broke the spell for CSI with a three-pointer. The hosts crawled as close as 59-44 on a Bryce Waterman (Colonie, N.Y.) jumper with 10:48 to play, only to see the Golden Falcons rattle off the next seven points. Felician was ahead by as many as 37 points in the closing minutes before CSI closed with a 7-0 spurt for the final margin.
Colon (five rebounds) and McRae (eight rebounds) finished with 12 points each and Jackson added 10 points and six boards. Off the Felician bench, junior Ebuka Nnagbo (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) (4-4 FG) registered a Golden Falcon career high of eight points and freshman Sean McCarthy (Cork, Ireland) also netted eight. All seven of Omar Ramos' (Sicklerville, N.J.) points came in the opening period.
Waterman and Austin Mick (Brunswick, Ohio) led the Dolphins (2-7) with 11 points each. CSI freshman Messiah Mallory (Watervliet, N.Y.) collected 10 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Friday's contest tips off a four-game homestand for Felician in Rutherford, N.J.
