BOX SCORE Staten Island, N.Y. - A second half comeback from Hunter College men's basketball fell just short on Tuesday night as the Hawks dropped a game to the College of Staten Island, 73-72.
The Hawks even out to 11-11 overall this season and are now 7-6 in the CUNYAC, while the Dolphins improved to 11-3 in the conference.
George Keener led the Purple and Gold in the first half, scoring 11 points as the Hawks went into halftime down, 38-29.
Matt Franks and
Danny Fusco scored for Hunter in the opening minutes of the second, but the Dolphins hit two three-pointers to lead by 11. From there Franks, Fusco and
Amer Lukac all contributed to Hunter's 12-3 run over the next two minutes to help the Hawks trail by just two points.
Staten Island continued to score and keep the lead, but Fusco and Gabbidon combined for nine points to help the Hawks cut CSI's advantage to just one point with 11:37 to play. It looked like Hunter finally wore the Dolphins down when a layup from Keener gave the Hawks a one-point lead, but CSI quickly took it back, going up by six points at the 2:36 minute mark.
Down by four with 18 seconds to play, Lukac hit a huge shot from behind the arc, with an assist from Fusco, to give the Hawks a fighting chance. The Purple and Gold were not able to convert on their last possession, as the Dolphins took the victory, 73-72.
Fusco and Franks led the Hawks with 17 points each, while Keener added 15 points, hitting seven field goals. Gabbidon chipped in 11 and Lukac recorded his third double-double in four games, earning 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Hawks out-shot the Dolphins with a field goal percentage of 49.2 percent and brought down more boards with a total of 39.
The squad returns to action on Thursday, February 8 when they travel to Baruch College for the "Battle of Lexington," beginning at 8 p.m.
