Nov. 15, 2005

Box Score

Smithfield, RI - The Adelphi men's basketball team shot 58.6 percent in the first-half, building a 38-26 halftime advantage. But the Panthers cooled off in the second-half, shooting just 33.3 percent from the field, falling 70-62. With the win Bryant opens the season 1-0, while the Panthers fall to 0-1.

A slow moving first-half saw neither team hit double-digits until Jamaal Wagner (Jamaica, N.Y.) hit a jumper to give Adelphi a 10-7 edge. The Panthers pushed their lead to seven, 14-7, on a jumper by Donnell Cummings (South Ozone Park, N.Y.).

Bryant used a 7-0 run to knot the game at 14 with 11:05 to play, but the Panthers responded with a 12-4 run to blow the game wide open and take a 26-16 edge. Adelphi took their largest advantage of the game when Wagner hit a free-throw to complete a three-point play, putting the Panthers up 14, 36-22 with 3:59 to play.

Bryant knocked the lead down to 12, but Ben Kenyon (Union, NJ) converted a lay-up to push the edge back to 14, before Nick Pontes tipped in his own miss to cut the lead to 38-26 at the half.

Bryant came out of the locker room firing, immediately cutting into Adelphi's lead. Five different Bulldogs scored during an 11-3 run that cut the Panthers lead to just four, 41-37. Bryant kept the pressure on and took their first lead, 47-46, since the 16:13 mark of the first half on a made free throw by Jon Ezeokoli.

The Bulldogs pushed their advantage to double-digits on four occasions but Adelphi kept cutting into the margin. The Panthers cut the lead down to just eight with 18 seconds to play on a pair of Mike Mosby (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) free throws, but just ran out of time, falling 70-62.

John Williams led all players with a game-high 22 points, while teammate Nick Pontes chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds.

Wagner led three Panthers in double figures with 17 points and four rebounds. Eric Martin (Laurelton, N.Y.) netted 13 points and pulled down seven boards, while Kenyon scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds.

Adelphi returns to action on Friday, November 18 when they take on Dominican at 8:00 pm in Orangeburg, New Jersey as part of the Dominican Tournament.