STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Mark Saladzius thought the game was headed to overtime.
Most others watching the Roberts Wesleyan College men's basketball team play the College of Staten Island on Wednesday night probably did, too.
The Redhawks (8-9, 6-6 ECC) had two opportunities to tie CSI – including a three-pointer that bounced off the backboard and rolled around the rim – in the final five seconds, but could not pull off the comeback and dropped an 80-77 decision in an East Coast Conference game.
Roberts trailed 79-77 when a driving layup attempt by Kevon Wright was blocked with four seconds left. The Redhawks received another opportunity when CSI went 1-for-2 at the line with 2.5 seconds left, but a 3 by Amari Lee fell off as time expired.
"We executed well on those plays to get two quality looks, but I think we did some things prior to that to put ourselves in that position," Saladzius said.
The Redhawks built a 12-point lead with 13:33 remaining before the Dolphins (7-13, 6-7) played their way back into the game. A late 11-0 run gave CSI a 78-71 lead with 1:49 to play before the Redhawks scored six straight points to cut the deficit to 78-77 with 25 seconds left.
Saladzius said Lee did everything in his power to give the Redhawks a chance in the final sequence.
"We wanted to get the ball to Amari in open space and I thought Ja'kair Sanchez made a good pass and Amari made a good read," Saladzius said. "We trust him to take that shot and he did everything that he could. We got about as good of a look as you can get in that situation, it just didn't go in."
Sanchez was strong all night, scoring a career-high 29 points and leading Roberts with nine rebounds.
"He was consistent and did a great job in the first half when our offense was a little stagnant," Saladzius said. "Give him credit, he stepped up and knocked down some big shots."
Senior Shane Fanning added 13 points and Abou Gbane added 11 for the Redhawks.
The Redhawks held a 27-13 advantage in points off turnovers but could not find their touch from long range, finishing 6-for-26 (23.1 percent) on 3-pointers.
Roberts opens a three-game homestand with a contest against the University of the District of Columbia at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
"There is no reason to panic because we are right in the mix," Saladzius said. "We have a chance to control our destiny with five games left in the regular season."