Nov. 25, 2003

Box Score

Rockville Center, N.Y. - Adelphi got two foul shots from freshman Kimani Blaize (Brooklyn, N.Y.) with 1:13 left to give the Panthers a 67-66 victory over Molloy College in their NYCAC opener. With the win Adelphi improves to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in NYCAC play, while the Lions drop to 0-2 overall and 0-2 in the NYCAC.

Adelphi opened the game with a 7-3 run that was capped off by a Blaize three-pointer. Molloy battled back and closed the gap to two points with 8:33 left in the first on a jumper by Josh Dinerman (Brooklyn, CT). But Adelphi answered back with an 8-0 to extend the lead to ten with 5:43 left in the first, Blaize had two three-pointers in the run. The Lions fought back again and cut the lead to four, 31-27 with two seconds to go before the half when Moise Garcia (Bronx, N.Y.) hit a jumper.

The lead changed hands three times to open the second half as Molloy jumped out to its first lead of the game with 18:05 left to play on a three-pointer by Dinerman. The Lions extended their lead to seven, 50-43 on a jumper by Dan Daigbe (Staten Island, N.Y.) with 11:15 left to play. Molloy outscored the Panthers 23-17 in the first ten minutes of the second half to claim their seven-point lead.

Adelphi clawed its way back to within four on a three-pointer by Jamaal Wagner (Jamaica, N.Y.) and a lay-up by Taylor Murphy (Rockaway Park, N.Y.). Then Michael Mooney (Staten Island, N.Y.) missed a three-pointer and Murphy grabbed the rebound, which ended up in the hands of Wagner who was followed while attempting a three-pointer. Wagner hit two of three attempts to cut the Lion lead to two.

Molloy extended its lead to eight with 6:00 left when Garcia hit one of two free throws. Molloy hit its last field goal with 6:56 left in the second half on a jumper by Dinerman, it was all free throws from that point on. The Lions were clinging to a four-point lead with 2:08 left and Wagner hit a three-pointer to trim the lead to one with 1:55 left. Molloy got the ball back but, Blaize made the steal on a Dinerman turnover and raced down court to the basket. Blaize was fouled with 1:13 left in the game and hit both free throws to give Adelphi the lead and the win.

Molloy rebounded an Eric Martin (Laurelton, N.Y.) miss and called a timeout with 17.3 seconds left. The Lions had two shots for the win in the last 17 seconds and missed them both as Adelphi came away with the win.

Wagner led Adelphi with a career-best 21 points, all in the second half, Blaize collected 14 points, 12 in the first half to pace Adelphi to the win. Thomas McCormack (Breezy Point, N.Y.) contributed four points, nine boards and seven assists to Adelphi's cause. Paul Cordasco (Staten Island, N.Y.) was the high man for Molloy with 14; he was followed by Garcia with 13. Andwele Murray (Westbury, N.Y.) pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds to go with his 12 points for Molloy.

Adelphi returns to action Thursday, December 4th when they travel to Dobbs Ferry for an 8:30 pm NYCAC showdown with Mercy College.