New York, NY – Freshman guard Malcolm Kelly (Jamaica, NY/Carle Place) scored a career high 18 points, shooting 78% from the field, but the Hawks would be upended on their own court by the Dolphins of the College of Staten Island led by senior guard Robert Mesjasz (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) who had a game high 24 points in the first game of a CUNY Athletic Conference doubleheader Friday evening at the Hunter Sportsplex in New York, NY.

Despite holding a two point lead at the end of the first half, the Hawks were behind virtually the entire first half before creeping back into the game with a 19-10 run to take their first lead with just 1:26 left in the half. The Dolphins then opened up the second half with a 13-6 run, pushing their lead back to seven, largest of the game.

Hunter had a late surge, cutting the lead to two (76-74) with 21 ticks left on the clock, but the Dolphin guard Ryan Hennessey (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph by the Sea) would sink two free throws with 17 seconds left to put the Dolphins up 78-74 and would then score a layup with one second left to earn the 80-74 victory.

Junior forward Joseph DeLuca (Maspeth, NY/Christ the King) continues to be a key part of the Hawk offense scoring 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting and also pulled down a team high nine rebounds. The Hawks out rebounded the dolphins by only a small margin, 36-34.

In his Hunter debut, senior guard Marlon Smith (Bronx, NY/Archbishop Molloy) scored 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting and dished eight assists in 24 minutes of action. On the receiving end of some of those assists was senior forward Gerard Ciarleglio (Bradenton, FL/Cardinal Mooney) who finished with 15 points and also chipped in eight rebounds.

Hunter now falls to 6-7 overall and pick up their second straight conference loss to a member of the south division. The Hawks will look to rebound in the CUNYAC next week, when they host Medgar Evers on Wednesday and Lehman on Friday, but will first take on New York University this Monday, January 14 in the second game of a non-conference doubleheader set to tip-off at 7:00 p.m.

– Hunter –