Dec. 11, 2004

Box Score

Garden City, N.Y. - NYIT held the Panthers to just 24 percent shooting from the field and 44 percent shooting from the free throw line for the game, while converting 21-of 25 free throw attempts to top Adelphi 58-51. The loss snaps Adelphi's five game win streak, dropping the Panthers to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in the conference, while NYIT raises their record to 4-3 overall and 4-2 in the NYCAC.

The Panthers opened the scoring on a three-pointer by Jamaal Wagner (Jamaica, N.Y.) taking a quick 3-0 lead. From there the first half went back and forth, producing eight lead changes and five ties.

Adelphi took a two-point lead on another Wagner three-pointer with 5:01 to play and extended the lead to four with 3:30 remaining on a bucket by Samuel Jenkins (Brooklyn, N.Y.). The Bears cut the lead to two on a Daniel Melo (Rio De Janeiro, Brazil) free throw and trimmed it to one heading into the locker room when Cedric Priso (Paris, France) converted a lay-up to make it a 25-24 game.

Priso gave the Bears the lead just 13 seconds into the second half on two made free throws, 26-25. Adelphi regained the lead on a James Samuels (Uniondale, N.Y.) three-pointer, and pushed the advantage to six with 8:58 to play on a three-pointer from Kimani Blaize (Brooklyn, N.Y.).

However that would be Adelphi's largest lead of the game as NYIT went on a 13-5 run over the next six minutes to claim a 51-49 edge. The Bears converted seven of eight free throw attempts in the final 1:10 to ice the win.

The Panthers shot just 24 percent for the game (16-66) including 37 percent from behind the three-point arc (12-32), while NYIT converted 38 percent of their field goals (16-42). The Bears also out shot Adelphi from the free throw line, converting on 21-25 attempts, while the Panthers shot 7-16 from the charity stripe.

Priso led the Bears with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Teammates Avery Oliver (Fall River, MA) and Edwin Ebanks (Bellerose, N.Y.) scored 13 points and 11 points respectively for NYIT.

Wagner led all scorers with a game-high 23 points, including shooting 6-10 from behind the three-point line. Wagner also grabbed 10 rebounds, junior Aaron Cummings (Bay Shore, N.Y.) chipped in a career-high nine assists and eight rebounds.

The Panthers return to action on Wednesday, December 15th when they play host to visiting Concordia College at 7:00 pm in Woodruff Hall.