March 9, 2008

Box Score

Flushing, N.Y. - The Adelphi men's basketball team took on top seeded C.W. Post in the East Coast Conference (ECC) tournament championship game on Sunday, March 9 in Flushing, New York on the campus of Queens College. The Panthers built a 10-point lead in the first half, but could not hold on, falling 60-57. The loss drops Adelphi to 20-10 overall, while the Pioneers improve to 26-4.

C.W. Post took control early, jumping out to a 12-5 lead just six and a half minutes into play. Adelphi responded with a quick 7-0 run, capped by a Pat Luptowski three-pointer to knot the game at 12, but the Pioneers reeled off six straight points to take a 18-12, lead with 9:28 left in the half.

At that point Adelphi erupted, out scoring C.W. Post, 24-5 over the next nine minutes to take a 13-point lead, 36-23, with seven ticks left in the first half. A Kenny Burkes three-point with two seconds made it a 10-point Adelphi lead at the half.

The Pioneers immediately bit into the Panther edge in the second half, cutting the margin to just four, 39-35, with 16:02 remaining. C.W. Post cut the lead to one, 44-43, with 13:17 to play, and knotted the game at 46 just twenty seconds later.

It was nip and tuck from then on with Adelphi taking their final lead of the game with 2:48 on the clock on a Richard Byrd three-pointer, 57-56. The Pioneers answered with a three-pointer and added a free throw with seven seconds left to secure the 60-57 win.

Jonathan Schmidt led all players with 25 points, while Burkes added 12 points.

Chris Diasparra led the Panthers with 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Byrd added 13 points and six rebounds, while Luptowski chipped in 10 points.

The Panthers now must wait to see if they have earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Division II tournament.