11/22/2008 -

Nick DiMaggio scored a game-high 27 points in his third game with Mount Saint Vincent. (Photo Courtesy: Union Sports Information)

CLINTON, NY – Newcomer Nick DiMaggio (Croton, NY) scored a game-high 27 points and senior co-captain Joe Cooke (Mount Vernon, NY) netted 25 for the Mount Saint Vincent Men’s Basketball team who picked up its first win of the season with a 97-92 triumph over Wells on Saturday. The win gives the Dolphins a third place finish in the Hamilton Tip-Off Tournament.

In his third game with the Dolphins, DiMaggio shot 9-16 from the floor and 5-8 from three-point range to help the Mount to their initial win of the season. DiMaggio, who transferred in from Union, also pulled down a rebound and handed out four assists.

Cooke continued his red hot shooting for Mount Saint Vincent on Saturday knocking down 60-percent (6-10) of his three-point attempts in the contest. He posted three rebounds and an assist in 39 minutes of action for the Mount.

A pair of freshmen notched career-highs for the Dolphins on Saturday, as Randy Battle (Bronx, NY) and Keiran Halton (Manasquan, NJ) scored 17 and 10 points respectively. Battle has set a new career mark in each of his three games in the blue and gold this season. He also recorded a par of assists in the game, while Halton pulled down five rebounds.

Junior co-captain Eric Lastres (Bayside, NY) had a strong all-around game on Saturday, as he recorded four points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. He also paced the Dolphins with five assists in a career-high 37 minutes.

Mount Saint Vincent never trailed in the contest and held a lead of 15 points twice, with the second coming with 8:48 remaining in regulation. Wells would slice the Mount lead to a little as five twice, once with 23 seconds remaining and once at the buzzer.

Overall in the game Mount Saint Vincent shot 49.1-percent from the floor and a staggering 55.0-percent (11-20) from three-point land. The Dolphins also converted 32 of 43 from the foul line. Mount Saint Vincent was out-rebounded in the tilt 52-26, but its defense forced 19 Wells turnovers and turned those into 18 points.

Wells (1-4) had five players reach double-figures in the contest, led by Darrell Bullock’s 24. Andre Sawyers also had a strong effort with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

The win improves Mount Saint Vincent’s record to 1-2 overall on the season. The Dolphins will be back in action again on November 24 for a road contest at St. Joseph’s-Brooklyn. Tip-Off is slated for 7:30 p.m.