March 12, 2011

Waltham, Mass. - The #6 seed Adelphi University men's basketball team saw its NCAA hopes dashed with a 73-64 first round loss to #3 Stonehill College at the Dana Center in Waltham, Mass. The Panthers close out the season with a 20-11 overall record.

Senior Richard Byrd became the first player in Adelphi history to score over 2,000 points when he hit a three-pointer at just 45 seconds into the game. He finished with 15 points for a career total of 2,013. Junior Robert Johnson had a game-high 20 points, with 15 coming in the second half.

In a physical contest, the Panthers were marred by fouls, raking up 30 in the game for 35 points. In contrast, the Skyhawks had 23 fouls, giving up just 14 points.

Adelphi's led only in the opening minutes of play, 5-3, on a layup by Chris Ranglin at 18:37. The Skyhawks went on a 24-11 run to lead, 27-15, through the 6:21 mark. The Panthers found themselves in foul trouble early on, with four of their five starters with two or more at the half. Stonehill held a 23-15 rebound advantage as well and their 88.9 percent free throw shooting provided 16 first half points. Adelphi trailed 42-27 at intermission.

The second stanza looked to be more of the same at the Stonehill lead ballooned to 17 points, 46-29, on a Mike Kernan layup at 17:47. Johnson accounted for the next five Panther points, but the Skyhawks kept them at bay despite shooting 23.1 percent in the half. A pair of free throws by junior Richard Harkins at 10:25, followed by a three-point basket spurred a 13-3 run. The Panther defense forced four Skyhawks turnovers during the rally, capped by Johnson's trifecta at 6:29 as Adelphi closed to within 3 points, 56-53.

However Stonehill did not waiver, pushing the margin back to nine points, 62-53, on a made basket by Ivan Almeida at 3:14. The Panthers lost three of its five starters in foul trouble won the stretch as the Skyhawks were 8-of-9 from the charity stripe in the final minutes to secure the victory.

Overall, Adelphi shot 44 percent from the field, versus 33.3 percent for Stonehill. Both teams committed 17 turnovers, but the difference came on the boards and at the free throw line. The Skyhawks pulled down 49 rebounds compared with 29 for the Panthers. Stonehill went to the line 44 times, with Adelphi having only 18 attempts.

The Skyhawks had five players in double figures, led by Kernan with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Almeida finished with 10 points and 12 boards.