Box Score
Waltham, MA - Earlier this evening, the men's basketball team held off the Falcons of Bentley College in a battle of the Northeast-10's top two teams. While the Panthers trailed the entire first half, they had just enough in the tank to take the hosts down to the wire and ice the game courtesy of six of six shooting from the charity stripe in the final 1:16 to pick up the 64-56 win and remain atop the conference standings. In victory, the men advance to 12-4, 9-3 NE-10 while Bentley's record stands at 12-4. 8-3 NE-10.
A balanced scoring attack has been a staple of Adelphi's offense this year, and tonight was no different as three players tallied in the double digits.
Robert Johnson and
John Calarco led the way with 14 points apiece while
Chris Ranglin chipped in with 12. Big man
Bradley Simpson had a relatively quite night, putting up just six points and pulling down as many rebounds, five of which were offensive while
Norron McDonald did his part with eight points.
As a team, the Panthers shot 44.6 percent from the field and went 6-19 from behind the arc while continuing their stellar efforts from the foul line, connecting on eight of nine attempts. Defensively, they forced 17 turnovers while holding their counterpart's field goal percentage to just 40.5.
For the Falcons, Jasper Grassa was the game high scorer, dropping 18 points, 12 of which came from three point land while teammate Sam Leclerc posted 15 points, nine of them coming from the foul line.
In the opening frame, Bentley led essentially the entire way except during a 2-2 tie in the opening minute. They built up an eight point lead on two occasions with the Panthers trailing by at least two buckets for most of the way. Two of Johnson's 10 first half points came with 2:28 left and proved to be the final basket of the half which allowed his team to head into the locker room down just two, 30-28.
A 9-2 run made possible by scoring from five different players and spanning the first 5:55 of the second act gave Adelphi their first lead of the game. Calarco came alive as he was perfect in the final 20 minutes on 4-4 shooting from the field, sinking 11 second half points.
Norron McDonald also had a solid effort off the bench, sinking two of his eight points with 4:54 remaining to give the Panthers a seven point advantage; their largest lead of the contest to that point.
In the final four minutes, things heated up as Bentley used an 8-0 run over the ensuing 1:25 to regain the lead at 54-52. With 1:20 to go, the Panthers found themselves still down by two. However, a Leclerc foul sent Calarco to the charity stripe where he made good on his two tries, evening the game at 56 all.
Just four seconds later, Andrew Shaw fouled Harkins, who, like his teammate, sunk his two free throw attempts, inching the Panthers closer to victory. Ranglin's layup, followed by two more made free throws by Johnson essentially put the game out of reach as 19 seconds remained with Adelphi up by six. A Calarco layup iced the contest as time ran out with the score in favor of Adelphi.
Adelphi hits the hardwood once again on Saturday, January 21 when they host Southern New Hampshire in a NE-10 Conference contest at the Center for Recreation and Sports at 3:30 pm. Watch the action live at www.aupanthers.tv or follow @AUPanthers on twitter for live updates throughout the game.
