Box Score

Worcester, MA – Earlier this afternoon, the #3 seeded men's basketball team took on the #6 seeded Pioneers of C.W. Post University in the first round of the NCAA East Region Tournament on the campus of Assumption College. In a closely matched affair in which each side held at least a seven point advantage at one point, the contest came down to the final moments of the game. In last second heroics, senior Norron McDonald was the hero of the game as his rebound and successful put back proved to be the game winner as Adelphi got by, 66-65. With the win, the Panthers move to 21-8 while the Pioneers end their season at 23-6.
 
For the Panthers, Bradley Simpson led three other players in double digit scoring figures with 15 points to go along with his nine boards. Chris Ranglin had a productive afternoon, posting a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards. Richard Harkins did his part, chipping in with 10 points, dishing out eight assists and tallying three steals while McDonald's timely, game winning basket put his point total to 12, tying his career high.
 
For the Pioneers, Allen Vaughen was the game high scorer with 18 points and 13 boards while Tyuan William and Tobin Carberry each chipped in with 13 points apiece. Steffan Bonneau, the nation's third leading scorer and East Regional Player of the Year was held to just six points.
 
The Pioneers got out to a hot start, connecting on five of their first eight jumpers to go out ahead, 11-5 in the first 5:01 of the game. Adelphi would not let the deficit grow, but rather go on to tie the affair on five occasions in the first half alone. Courtesy of Ranglin, Simpson and McDonald, the trio shot a combine 9-13 from the field and accounted for 21 of their team's 29 points in the first 20 minutes.
 
With time winding down in the opening act, Bonneau missed his mark from the three point line and the miss was pulled down by Cliff Brown. With 15 seconds remaining, Adelphi had time for one final play which resulted in a made Ranglin three as time expired, giving the Panthers a three point cushion heading into the half, 29-26.
 
In the first 3:55 of the second half, Adelphi capitalized on three C.W. Post turnovers and held them to just two made jumpers. The Brown and Gold sunk six of their first nine shots to grow the lead to eight, the highest of the game.  However, A William layup sparked an 11-0 Pioneer run, swinging the scoreboard in their favor, 48-45 as they approached the half way mark.
 
Adelphi would go on to even the slate on two more occasions but slipped into a seven point hole with 3:03 remaining. Brown and Carberry exchanged layups as the scoreboard read 65-58 in favor of the green and white. A game changing trey by Simpson gave Adelphi the spark and momentum they needed to cut down the lead, little by little as the clock crept closer to the conclusion of the contest.
 
With 47 seconds left, Ranglin, on his way up to the basket, drew a foul and got the and-one. He made good on the attempt from the charity stripe to pull within one, 65-64. With C.W. Post in possession of the ball, a missed shot by Vaughn with 21 seconds left was picked up by McDonald and Head Coach Dom Savino immediately called a time out to gather his troops and devise his offensive attack over what would be their final possession.
 
After the inbound, Ranglin was off his mark on a layup attempt, but McDonald again pulled down the rebound, made a move down low and went up strong to the rim. His attempt was good as Adelphi went up 66-65 with 1.8 seconds remaining in the game. William threw up a desperation three, but it was no good as the C.W. Post season come to an end. Adelphi held their counterparts scoreless over the final 2:25 to take the win and advance to the second round in the Tournament.
 
With the win, the Panthers will face Stonehill tomorrow, March 11 at 5:00 pm. You can watch the game live via webcast at www.northeast10.tv or get live updates via Twitter by following @AUPanthers.