The Saint Rose Chronicle

Issue date: 2/27/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Abby Ingraham Senior Dagostino was recognized with fellow seniors Saturday.

The Golden Knights grabbed a victory to cap off senior night in The Nolan Gym as they defeated Southern Connecticut State 87-72.

The game got off to a very slow start; Southern Connecticut came out strong and was ahead the entire first half. With 2 seconds to go before the end of the half, sophomore Jermaine Clark hit a 3 pointer, closing the gap a little more which left the Golden Knights trailing the Southern Connecticut Owls by 3 points.

"We haven't played in a week," said senior guard Will Monica. "This team is very good. They have 5 guys that are constantly running the floor; they hit the boards and get it out quick. They're unlike a lot of the teams we've played this year. They jumped on us early, we took their first couple shots, they knocked us down, but we got back up and had a really great run in the second half."

Just past the 14 minute mark, senior guard Steve Dagostino led the Golden Knights on an essential run outscoring the Owls 17-4. Dagostino scored 10 of those 17 points.

"Coach always says that college basketball is a game of runs," said Dagostino. "We're always looking to go on 10-0, 11-0 runs and we were able to really get a couple in that second half and I think that's what really broke the game open."

Prior to the game, seniors Monica, Dagostino, forward Shanty Robinson and Tom Behrens, who has been injured, were all recognized for their commitment to the basketball program here at the college.

"We talked about the seniors in the locker room before the game and how important they've been to our program for 4 years," said head coach Brian Beaury. "More importantly we don't let them forget that we don't let them off the hook after they graduate. They will be part of this program forever and we want them to continue to be leaders in our program and supporters of what we do on and off the floor."

This win marked 20 wins for the third season in four years for the Golden Knights. This is also Beaury's 15th time in 22 seasons with 20 wins.

"College basketball has a lot of measurements," said Beaury. "I think that's a measurement for having a good season."

The three seniors really shined as Dagostino, Monica and Robinson scored 29 of 54 points in the second half.

"Every team talks about the big three, and we have the big three," said Monica. "We have four or five other guys stepping up in our spots though; we had great energy coming off the bench."

The Golden Knights continued to play hard for the remainder of the second half and defeated the Owls (3-18, 7-19) by 15 points.

This senior night victory gives the Golden Knights a 20-6 / 17-4 Northeast-10 Conference record.

Dagostino led Saint Rose in scoring with 25 points and he added 9 assists. Robinson led the team in rebounds with 12 and also added 15 points for the Golden Knights. The Owls scoring was led by junior forward Preston Bell who scored 17.

"We're still trying to get something more than a big win on senior night," said Monica. "We're trying to get that championship and go out on top. This would be the best way we could end this."

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools