Jan. 6, 2007

Box Score

Garden City, N .Y. - Senior Kimani Blaize tallied 14 of his game-high 24 points in the second half as the Adelphi University men's basketball team topped Philadelphia University, 66-62, at Woodruff Hall. The Panthers improve to 5-5 while the Rams drop to 10-3.

Blaize opened the game with a trifecta to put the Panthers up early. The Rams quickly responded to keep things close, 4-3. There were 13 lead changes and five ties in the first half alone with Philadelphia's largest lead of the half, 12-8, at 12:15. Blaize's six points led a 12-6 Panther rally as they went up, 20-18 with 5:06 to go. The game remained close as Adelphi trailed, 23-24, with less than a minute left. Graduate student Anthony Noble hit a jumper for two of his nine first-half points, to put the Panthers ahead at the half, 25-24.

After several more lead changes, the game tied for the fourteenth time of the afternoon, 47-47, with 5:59 left in regulation. Senior Mike Mosby chipped in nine of his ten points in the second half, to go along with a game-high 11 rebounds, as the Panthers surged ahead, outscoring the Rams, 16-5. Adelphi held a comfortable 11 point lead, 63-52, with less than a minute remaining. Levy Winters was 2-for-3 from beyond the arc in the waning seconds, helped by four points from Jason Hickenbottom as the Rams closed to within two, 64-62, with 10 seconds on the clock. The Panthers forced two key turnovers with Blaize connecting on his final free throws to perserve the win.

Blaize was 10-of-13 from the charity stripe, along with eight rebounds and three assists. Noble finished with 14 points while senior Donnell Cummings had ten points off the bench for the Panthers.

Philadelphia was led by Hickenbottom with 21 points, five rebounds and three steals. Christian Burns had 14 points and nine rebounds. Winters finished with 13 points.

Adelphi returns to conference action on Wednesday, January 10, hosting the University of New Haven at 7:30 p.m.