Box Score

Lowell, MA – Earlier this evening, the men's basketball team took on the Riverhawks of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Despite falling behind by 10 at halftime, the Panthers, with the help of 10 different players scoring, used a big 50 point second half to storm back and come away with an 80-74 upset win. In victory, the Panthers even out their record at 8-8, 5-5 NE-10 while UMass Lowell sits at 10-4, 6-4 in conference play.
 
The Brown and Gold were led by freshman point guard, Anthony Libroia who dropped 15 points and dished out five assists. He shot 4-8 from the field including a 3-4 performance from behind the arc. It marks the second time in three outings he sunk three triples, and has made eight of his last 10 attempts from downtown. Bradley Simpson extended his streak of double digit scoring to five games with a 13 point performance on the evening. He also grabbed a game high eight rebounds. RJ Samuels, in just his second game back from an injury sustained in December, chipped in with 11 points in 22 minutes of action.
 
For the Riverhawks, Antonio Bivins led three of his teammates in double digit scoring with a game high of 21 points; 11 of which came from the charity stripe. Akeem Williams and Chad Holley chipped in with an even split of 30 points while Kennedy Chukwuocha added 10 in the loss.
 
The Panthers started out in a 7-0 hole after missing their first three attempts from the field in the opening 2:40. A fast break layup off of a steal by Cliff Brown and a Duane Morgan layup were the only points Adelphi would see as they slipped to into a 10 point deficit nearing the midway point of the first half.
 
Since falling behind by double digits, the Brown and Gold crawled back to within seven thanks to a Libroia triple, but UMass Lowell maintained a firm grip on the pace of the game and headed into the locker rooms at the half with a seemingly comfortable 10 point lead.
 
Fouled on a three point attempt, Libroia sunk each of his tries from the charity stripe and then drilled a triple on the next possession to cut the deficit to just six points. Over the next three and a half minutes, Adelphi was able to pull within three on two occasions. At the 12:04 mark, the hosts clung to a six point lead, but a layup by Samuels sparked an 11-0 Panther run to shift the momentum in their favor.
 
Sean Crawford drilled a three give Adelphi their first lead of the game while a layup by Nayquann Mitchell capped the run. With just under four minutes remaining in the game, Adelphi's eight point cushion shrunk to two with 1:39 showing on the clock thanks to UMass Lowell's Williams' made three ball.
 
However, in the final minute, the Panthers put the game on ice by sinking 6-7 from the charity stripe and would head back to Garden City with the victory.
 
Adelphi returns to action on Saturday, January 19 when they host Franklin Pierce at the Center for Recreation and Sport. Tipoff is slated for a 3:30pm start.
 
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