Chicago, Ill. – Jalen Forrest scored 24 points to lead Chicago State University to an 88-72 victory over the Le Moyne College men's basketball team in Northeast Conference action on Saturday afternoon at the Jones Convocation Center.

Sophomore guard AJ Dancler (Indianapolis, Ind./Southport) led the Dolphins with 19 points, including 11 in the second half, six rebounds and five assists. Graduate student guard Robby Carmody (Mars, Pa./Mars Area/Notre Dame/Mercer) tallied 16 points for the third time this season and pulled down five rebounds. Redshirt junior forward Dwayne Koroma (Berlin, Germany/Bishop Walsh (Md.)/Iona/Salt Lake C.C./UT Arlington) registered his second consecutive double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds to go with three steals. Junior guard Zek Tekin (Istanbul, Turkey/Ozel Esenkent Okaynus Anadolu Lisesi/Siena) posted 12 points off the bench.

Forrest, who nearly tripled his seasonal scoring average (8.8), split his point total evenly between the two halves, while adding eight rebounds and three assists. Gabe Spinelli almost doubled his season scoring average (7.8) with 14 points to go with career highs of seven assists and five steals. Saxby Sunderland, a 6.4-point scorer, recorded 13, including eight in the first half. Noble Crawford, the team's leading scorer on the season at 9.4 points per game, turned in 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Troy McKoy, Jr. posted 10 points.

The teams went back and forth over the opening eight minutes, splitting the game's first 28 points and trading the lead six times. Carmody and Koroma each scored six points in the span.

The Cougars, the second-lowest scoring team in Division I (364 teams) at 58.6 points per game, scored the next seven points and 10 of the next 12 points. McKoy, Jr. hit a three-pointer and then Forrest had tip-ins on consecutive possessions and buried a three-pointer.

Le Moyne answered back with eight of the next 10 points to get back within two. Dancler drained a three-pointer and made lay-up and then fed Carmody for a fast-break three-pointer with 7:12 left.

After the teams traded points over the next 92 seconds, during which the Dolphins cut their deficit to one on Carmody's fourth three-pointer of the game, the Cougars scored seven of the next nine points to push their lead to 37-31 with 4:06 to go. Crawford made a jumper, Spinelli converted a lay-u and then Sunderland buried a three-pointer.

Following a three-pointer by Dancler out of the under-4 media timeout, Chicago State rattled off eight of the next nine points for its first double-digit lead of the game. Crawford made a jumper and a free throw on separate possessions, Dailliss Cox had a lay-up and then Sunderland connected on another three-pointer with 1:44 to go for a 45-35 advantage.

The Dolphins connected on four free throws against one from Chicago State over the final 1:20 to get within 46-39 at halftime.

Following a basket by each team over the opening two minutes of the second half, the Cougars, specifically Forrest, ran off eight straight points in a span of 1:22 with a jumper and two three-pointers.

Carmody scored four points in a row to get the Dolphins back within 11, but the Cougars were able to push their lead back to 15 on a pair of occasions over the next two minutes.

Following a three-pointer by fifth-year guard Darrick Jones Jr. (Richmond, Va./Oak Hill Academy/Towson) to get the Dolphins within 12 for the final time with 10:54 left, McKoy, Jr. hit a three-pointer and made a dunk to give Chicago State its first 17-point lead with 10:05 remaining.

The teams traded points over the next two minutes before Forrest made a foul shot with 7:49 to go to give Chicago State an 18-point lead for the first time.

Le Moyne was able to cut the margin to 14 with 4:41 left following four straight points from Dancler, but Spinelli made two free throws and Sunderland drilled a three-pointer to give the Cougars their largest lead of the game, 83-64, with 1:54 remaining.

Tekin answered with a three-pointer and Dancler had a conventional three-point play to make it 83-70 with 1:05 left.

Forrest made two free throws and Spinelli made one to close out the game's scoring.

Le Moyne (6-13, 1-3 NEC) is back in action on Monday in the back half of a women's and men's doubleheader against Stonehill College at 7:00 p.m.