Jan. 27, 2007

Box Score

Old Westbury, N.Y. - The Adelphi men's basketball team shot 60 percent in the first half, building a 40-30 halftime lead and held on to pick up a 75-72 East Coast Conference (ECC) win over host NYIT on January 27. With the win the Panthers improve to 9-8 overall and 6-5 in the ECC, while NYIT falls to 11-5 overall and 8-3 in conference play.

The Panthers grabbed a 7-2 lead out of the gates and lead the entire first half. NYIT's Brian McFadden connected on a three pointer at 11:56 to bring the Bears within 17-15, but Anthony Noble (Uniondale, N.Y.) scored seven of the Panthers next nine points, including five in a row, to help Adelphi build a 26-20 lead with eight minutes remaining.

The Panthers led by at least six points for the remainder of the half and went into the intermission ahead 40-30 on the strength of Kimani Blaize (Brooklyn, N.Y.) three pointer with just under a minute left. Mike Mosby (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) also scored 11 first half points on 5-6 shooting as Adelphi shot 60.9% in the first 20 minutes.

Adelphi took their largest lead of the game, 45-33, on a lay-up from Mosby 2:27 into the second half of action. NYIT responded with a 13-2 run over the next four minutes, sparked by six straight points from senior Miguel Pierre-Fanfan to pull within one, 47-46.

Leading 50-48, Noble hit two free throws and buried a three pointer to push Adelphi's lead to seven, 57-50 with just under 10 minutes left in the game. However, Pierre- Fanfan started another Bears run, this one a 15-5 scoring spree, with a three pointer. Bryant Lassiter scored seven points during the run, including a three from the corner that gave the Bears their first lead of the game, 61-59 at the 7:12 mark.

The Panthers, faced with a 65-61 deficit, made a run of their own as Mosby scored on two consecutive lay-ups and Samuel Jenkins (Brooklyn, N.Y.) knocked down a three to regain the lead for the Panthers, 68-66, with just over four minutes left to play. Lassiter connected another three on the Bears next possession to give NYIT a 69-68 lead, but Jenkins responded with another three on Adelphi's insuing possession, putting the Panthers ahead 71-69.

Andre Wright managed to tie the score 71-71 with two free throws with :47 seconds left in the game, but Jenkins was fouled and made both free throws to give Adelphi a 73-71 lead. After Pierre-Fanfan converted one of two from the charity stripe for NYIT, Noble made two more free throws, giving Adelphi a 75-72 lead with :15 seconds remaining. Consecutive three point attempts from the Bears in the waning seconds were both off the mark gave Adelphi the victory.

Pierre-Fanfan finished with 18 points and six rebounds, while Lassiter added 14 points, 12 in the second half and grabbed six rebounds.

Mosby led four Panthers in double figures with 21 points and nine rebounds, Jenkins finished with 18, Noble added 16 and Blaize chipped in with 12.

Adelphi returns to action on Tuesday, January 30 when they travel to Caldwell, New Jersey for a 7:30 pm match-up.