New York, NY - The men's basketball team hosted the Dolphins of the College of Staten Island on Tuesday evening in their first CUNYAC contest of the 2015-16 season. After being up by eight points at the half, the Dolphins made a furious comeback in the second to steal the victory over the home team. The loss drops Hunter to 0-6 on the year and 0-1 in CUNYAC play.

The Purple and Gold had four in double figures led by Robert Ashamole and Amer Lukac each with 12 points apiece while Alex Mattina and Gerard Carty chipped in with 10 points each. Vuyisile Beschta did his part with nine while Matt Franks, Marcus Ashamole and robert Borusiewicz all had seven points.

As a team, the Hawks shot 43.8 percent from the floor and went 7-20 from behind the arc. They limited their turnovers to just 11 which matches their season low, and were credited with 18 assists. The bench players had a big role in the game, accounting for 35 points.

Hunter fell victim to a 7-0 Dolphin run and but marched back to tie the game at 18 after two good free throws from Vuyisile. It was part of the Hawk's offensive surge midway through the third that included a dominating 18-2 run that gave them a 10 point lead. By the end of the half, the Purple and Gold were still on top by eight, 45-37.

Staten Island found their rhythm in the second, shooting nearly 55% from the floor which included nailing five of seven attempts from downtown. The Hunter lead slowly dwindled and by the 13:07 mark, the game was even at 61 apiece. Going cold from the floor, the hosts began to fade. Facing a 10 point deficit with just over two and a half minutes left, they ran out of time to mount a comeback, falling by a final score of 70-78.

The Hawks return to action on Sunday, December 29 when they hit the road and take on Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ at 1pm.