STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Nicholas Johnson's basket with 1:01 remaining in the first half gave the Roberts Wesleyan University men's basketball team a 32-31 lead over the College of Staten Island in Saturday afternoon's regular-season finale.
The host Dolphins used a 5-0 run to take a 36-32 advantage at halftime and the Redhawks were unable to regain the lead the rest of the way, falling 73-64 in the East Coast Conference game.
The Redhawks (9-15, 7-9 ECC) earned the sixth seed for the ECC Championship and will play at No. 3 Molloy (11-17, 10-6 ECC) at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The teams split their season series with Molloy winning 77-69 at home on Dec. 11 and Roberts prevailing 83-76 six days later.
Graduate student Rian Carter scored 15 points to led four Roberts players in double figures on Saturday. Senior Abou Gbane added 13 points, Malik Brooks added 12 and Anastasios Zetos scored 10. Johnson secured nine rebounds for the Redhawks.
Roberts trailed by four points with 10 minutes left, but CSI was able to fend off the Redhawks charge. The Dolphins made 13 three-point shots in the game, while Roberts went 6 of 25 from long distance.
The Redhawks limited CSI to four offensive rebounds and held a 36-31 advantage on the boards while outscoring the Dolphins 32-18 in the paint.