STATEN ISLAND, NY – Yassine Sakhi (New York, NY) had his second straight double-double and Romello Rashad (New York, NY) added 16 points, but it was not enough for the City College of New York men's basketball team on Tuesday night, as the Beavers (0-7) dropped an 80-67 decision to Staten Island (3-4) at the Sports & Recreation Center.  The game officially counted as a non-conference contest because of the Dolphins' pending reclassification to Division II.

Sakhi tallied 20 points to go along with 10 rebounds.  He also distributed four assists.  Rashad, meanwhile, finished with 16 points, nine boards, four assists and three steals.  Athanasios Kamberis (New Hyde Park, NY) contributed 11 points off the bench, and Isaiah Denard (Staten Island, NY) registered nine points.  Isaiah Williams (Bronx, NY) handed out four assists for the Beavers, who shot 38.5 percent (25-of-65) from the field.  CCNY was 9-for-26 (34.6 percent) from long range and 8-for-12 (66.7 percent) at the free throw line.

After Sakhi hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 8-8 with 14:39 left in the first half, Staten Island went on a 20-2 run over the next five minutes to open up a 28-10 advantage.  CCNY responded with a 10-2 spurt, however, and trimmed its deficit to 10 points, 30-20, on a layup and free throw by Rashad with 7:39 remaining until halftime.  The Dolphins closed the half on a 15-3 rally, though, and took a 45-23 lead into the locker room.

Staten Island's cushion reached a game-high 25 points at 51-26 early in the second half, but the Beavers rallied within 15 when Kamberis sank a trey to make it 59-44 with 14:16 to go.  After the Dolphins pushed the margin back to 20 points at 73-53, CCNY rallied for 14 of the next 16 points to get back within eight, 75-67, with 2:33 remaining.  From there, the Beavers were forced to foul in order to stop the clock, and Staten Island hit five free throws in the final minute to close out an 80-67 victory.

Adeola Latunji recorded a double-double for the Dolphins with 16 points and 11 rebounds.  He added three steals.  Chris Velasquez had 16 points and three assists, while Andrew Kartalis notched 15 points.  Andrew Mick finished with 12 points, five rebounds and six assists, and Joseph Zieris pulled down eight boards to go along with five blocks.  Staten Island went 30-for-63 (47.6 percent) from the floor and outrebounded CCNY 44-35.  The Dolphins shot 37.1 percent (13-of-35) from downtown and 43.8 percent (7-of-16) at the charity stripe.

On Friday, the Beavers (0-0 CUNYAC) begin their CUNY Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) slate by welcoming preseason league favorite John Jay (5-1, 1-0 CUNYAC) to Nat Holman Gymnasium for an 8 p.m. matchup.  It will be CCNY's annual Alumni Social, and the Beavers will honor members of their championship anniversary teams at approximately 6:45 p.m., shortly after the conclusion of the women's game.