STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The Curry College men's basketball team overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to force overtime but fell in double OT in a 103-98 decision to the College of Staten Island (CSI) on Friday night in the opening round of the Tournament of Heroes at the Tank.

The Colonels trailed by six with 4:58 remaining in regulation and rallied back with five straight points by senior Jared Thorpe-Johnson (Dorchester, Mass.) to give Curry the slim 75-73 advantage. Thorpe-Johnson sent the game into extra time with the final basket of the second half, a triple with 22 seconds left. The Colonels led by four in the first overtime before Dolphins' junior Rigaud Destime (Amityville, N.Y.) tied the score again with 15 seconds remaining. In the second and final OT, Destime scored six points as the home team squeezed out the win.

The College of Staten Island (4-6 overall) shot 54.3 percent from the floor in the contest. Senior Adeola Latunji (Staten Island, N.Y.) poured in a game-high 38 points and added 10 rebounds, four assists, six blocks, and three steals to pace the Dolphins. Junior Joseph Zieris (Staten Island, N.Y.) tallied a double-double of 17 points and 12 boards with four assists, three steals, and three blocks. Junior Austin Mick (Brunswick, Ohio) and sophomore Andrew Kartalis (Staten Island, N.Y.) chipped in 13 points each while Destime registered 12 points, three caroms, eight assists, and three steals.

Curry (3-6 overall) shot a season-high 48.1 percent as a team and 44.7 percent from three-point range, knocking down 17 triples. Thorpe-Johnson paced the Colonels with a season-high 34 points and shot 6-for-14 from deep. Classmate Kieran Carroll (Greenwich, Conn.) finished with 19 points and a career-best 19 rebounds while fellow senior Daymeann Stewart (Milwaukee, Wis.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 19.

CSI led 44-38 at halftime but saw the lead vanish with just three minutes to go in regulation. Trailing by six with under five minutes to go, Thorpe-Johnson would outscore the Dolphins by himself with a 13-7 spurt to send the contest to an extra period knotted at 80.

In the first overtime, Curry built a four-point advantage on back-to-back threes from freshman Angelo Sardegna (Lutz, Fla.) and Thorpe-Johnson to push the score to 86-82. Latunji came back with three straight points to pull within one. The Colonels found themselves once again up by four with 41 seconds remaining following a made free throw by Stewart. Latunji was big down the stretch with another basket and following a turnover by Sardegna, Destime converted another lay-up with 15 ticks left to send the game to a second overtime.

The Dolphins never trailed in the second extra period, leading by as many as six. Freshman Michael Ashley (North Atlanta, Ga.) pulled Curry to within three, 101-98, with seven seconds left, but CSI sunk two late free throws to ice the five-point victory, 103-98.

With the loss, the Colonels will face Bridgewater College (Va.) in the Consolation Game of the Tournament of Heroes on Saturday, December 28 at 1:00 p.m. CSI advances to the Championship Game of the Tournament and will face Wheaton College (Mass.) on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

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