Feb. 23, 2011

Box Score

West Haven, CT - The Adelphi University men's basketball team traveled to West Haven, Connecticut on Wednesday, February 23 to close out the regular season against New Haven. The Panthers trailed in the second half, but made a run to get within three points late, before a late triple made the final score, 73-71 New Haven. With the loss Adelphi closes out the regular season, 16-10 overall and 12-10 in conference, while New Haven improves to 8-18 and 6-16 in the Northeast-10.

Richard Byrd led all players with 27 points and became the leading scorer in program history when he knocked down a three-pointer just 89 seconds into the game, passing Malcolm Dowdy, who set the record in 1991 with 1,897 career points. Byrd now has 1,923 points, 26 more then Dowdy with at least one game left in his Adelphi career.

In addition to Byrd, Richard Harkins, Rob Johnson and David Akinyooye also reached double figures as Harkins had 13, Johnson 12 and Akinyooye 11. Johnson added seven rebounds, while Harkins chipped in three assists.

The first half featured a close match that never saw a lead of more than five points from either team. Statistically, the two squads were very evenly matched with both teams shooting just over 40 percent from the floor and Adelphi controlled an 18-16 advantage on the boards. After 20 minutes of action, the Panthers had grasped a one point lead, 28-27, at halftime.

After the intermission, the two teams went back and forth, exchanging baskets until the score was tied up at 36-36. However, the Chargers reeled off an 18-8 run - taking a double-digit lead, 54-44, with 8:14 remaining in the game.

A change in momentum was in store over the next five minutes of play, as the Panthers cut their deficit down to just three points. New Haven responded with a 6-0 run, granting the Chargers a nine point lead with two minutes left in regulation.

Adelphi made one last surge down the stretch, but the Chargers knocked down its free-throws to hold on for the victory, as a Harkins triple at the buzzer made the final score 73-71.

The Panthers will open post season play on Saturday, February 26 when they host #10 Southern Connecticut State at 1:00 pm in the quarterfinals of the Northeast-10 playoffs.