Box Score

Worcester, MA – Earlier this afternoon, the third seeded men's basketball team took on the second seeded Stonehill Skyhawks in the NCAA East Regional Tournament semifinal round. In the third meeting between the two teams this season alone, Adelphi held a one point lead in a low scoring, first half affair. However, as the pace quickened in the second, a 16-2 Skyhawk run forced Adelphi to play catch up the rest of the game. Despite pulling within five in the late stages, it was not enough as the curtain closed on Adelphi's season, 68-58. The Brown and Gold close the chapter on their 2011-12 campaign with a 21-9 mark while Stonehill advances to the NCAA East Region final with a mark of 23-8.
 
For Adelphi, Robert Johnson was the team's high scorer, posting 14 points on 5-12 shooting while Bradley Simpson added 13 points and grabbed eight misses. Richard Harkins earned six of his eight points on free throws and added six assists, six rebounds and one steal while teammates Chris Ranglin and Cliff Brown combined for 13 points and nine rebounds.
 
As a team, the Panthers shot .412 from the field, pulled down 34 boards and were 13-18 from the foul line.
 
The Skyhaws were led by Brian Hamor who was 3-3 from behind the arc and 7-7 from the charity stripe which added to his game high 20 points. Patrick Lee and Jack Cole each scored 11 points and pulled down a combine 16 rebounds while Adam Fazzini had eight points and four boards.
 
The Skyhawk squad shot just .385 from the field, made five three-pointers, and were 23-26 from the freebie line.
 
Hamor quickly got the Skyhawks on the board immediately after the opening tip with a good layup and then followed it up with a three pointer. Fazzini drained a three to put Adelphi in an eight point hole right off the bat.
 
However, after being held scoreless in the opening 5:18, turning the ball over three times and missing their first three shots, Adelphi struck back with an 11-0 run spanning 3:17 which was sparked by a Ranglin layup and capped with a Simpson jumper.
 
The two teams would go on to swap the lead three times leading up to halftime with neither side getting ahead by more than three points. A Cole jumper with 1:11 left was the final basket of the opening act, brining Stonehill within one as the scoreboard read 21-20 in favor of the Brown and Gold.
 
Simpson notched his seventh point of the game to open the second and final frame, but Stonehill went on a hot streak to put up 16 unanswered points, turning a three point disadvantage into a 13 point cushion that included making five straight field goal attempts.
 
On two occasions, the point differential was as high as 14 points and then grew to 16 at the 8:33 mark. A bucket from Brown, five points from Johnson and two successful free throws by Harkins pulled the game back within reach at 48-41.
 
The teams traded runs with Stonehill using a five point streak to bring it back to a double digit lead while Adelphi again cut it back down to five, using five free throws and a jumper to keep the game close.
 
As the clock read 2:13, the Panthers still found themselves down by five. As the 60 second mark approached, the Panthers began to foul to slow the game down in an attempt to keep it close. Stonehill proceeded unfazed as proven by going 10 for 10 at the charity stripe in the final minute of the game to keep enough of a buffer to hold off the charging Panthers.
 
Johnson and Harkins made good on their final two free throw attempts each, but it was not enough as time expired in favor of the South Easton, Massachusetts team.
 
With the loss, Adelphi's 2011-12 season comes to an end tonight. They posted a mark of 21-9 and shared a portion of the Northeast-10 regular season title with a 16-6 conference mark.