Nov. 23, 2010

Box Score

Albany, N.Y. - The Adelphi University men's basketball team traveled to Albany, New York on Tuesday, November 23 to take on Northeast-10 favorite St. Rose. Adelphi started cold, trailing by as much as 20 points in the first half, but closed to within one with 15 seconds to play but could not finish the comeback, falling 78-74. The loss drops Adelphi to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the conference, while St. Rose remains unbeaten at 5-0 and 2-0.

Richard Byrd led the Panthers with 28 points on 10-20 shooting and eight rebounds, while Robert Johnson chipped in 15, including 3-6 from deep. Chris Ranglin and David Akinyooye each reached double figures as Ranglin had 12 and Akinyooye added 10.

The Golden Knights took advantage of a sluggish start by Adelphi to take a 14 point lead, 15-1, just five minutes into the action. The Panthers troubles continued as St. Rose pushed the bulge to 20 points on a jumper at the 5:26 mark.

Adelphi attempted to claw back into the game, closing the gap to 14 on two Byrd free throws with 3:09 left in the half. However, St. Rose pushed the lead back to 20 with 1:45 on the clock and Adelphi would enter the half trailing by 17, 46-29.

The Panthers opened the second half facing an uphill battle and continued to trail as the gap was still a robust 16, 65-49 with 11 minutes left in the contest. However, Adelphi used a quick 17-5 run, sparked by a Chris Ranglin triple to close to within four points, 70-66 with 5:39 on the clock.

Fortune continued to favor Adelphi as RJ Samuels tipped in a Ranglin miss fire to knot the action at 1:49 left on the clock, erasing what was once a 20 point St. Rose lead. The Golden Knights would push the lead back to three with 25 ticks on the clock, but two Richard Harkins free throws would make it a one point game with 15 seconds on the scoreboard. However, St. Rose made three of four freebies in the final seconds to end Adelphi's comeback bid.

The Panthers return to action at 3:30 pm on Sunday, November 28 when they play host to Assumption College in the Center for Recreation and Sports.