Box Score

New Haven, CT – Earlier this evening, the men's basketball team took on the Chargers of New Haven in a Northeast-10 Conference matchup at the Charger Gymnasium. Despite falling behind by seven points at the half, Adelphi rallied in the second; clinging to a late lead and holding off the hosts in the final minute, securing a 64-59 victory. With the win, the Panthers move to 11-11, 8-8 NE-10 while the Chargers' record now stands at 13-7, 10-6 NE-10.
 
Bradley Simpson led the way with 17 points on 6-11 shooting from the field and sank 5-6 from the charity stripe to compliment his 10 boards. Cliff Brown was an efficient 4-6 from the floor and went 5-9 from the foul line for 15 points while dishing out six assists. Freshman Anthony Libroia notched 11 points, nine of which came from behind the arc while RJ Samuels made his presence felt down low with 11 rebounds.
 
Justin Exum led four Chargers in double digit scoring with 22 points while Jeremy Williams added 13 points of his own. Jeffrey Adkins chipped in with 12 points while Eric Anderson matched that and pulled down 15 of New Haven's 27 boards.
 
The Panthers opened up the game on a hot start with a 7-2 run on the strength of two Simpson jumpers and a Librioa triple to highlight the first two minutes. However, six straight Panther misses allowed the Chargers to climb right back into the game, taking an 8-7 lead before Librioa and John Calarco broke the silence with back to back jumpers.
 
It was a close knit contest through the first 13:47 until a Justin Exum layup sparked a 7-0 run to give the Chargers a 31-23 lead. Another made attempt from the field by Calarco put the Panthers within a four point striking distance, but Exum's two free throws to close out the first sent the game into halftime with New Haven holding a 35-29 advantage.
 
Adelphi continued to trail by seven points through the initial 6:05 of the second until Simpson and Brown each sunk their two attempts from the charity stripe to make it a three point affair at 44-41. However, the Chargers responded with an Anderson jumper and an Exum triple to grow the point differential to eight.
 
From that point, the hosts went cold over the next 3:40, missing each of their three attempts from the field and leaving the door open for the Panthers in the process. Adelphi capitalized with scores from Librioa, DeNicola and Sean Crawford to pull even at 49 apiece.
 
A Calarco free throw at the eight minute mark gave the Panthers their first lead since the 7:20 mark in the first. With 4:39 showing on the clock, Adelphi found themselves down by three, but Libroia stepped up and knocked down a three pointer from the corner to knot the score at 57.
 
A turnover by Adkins resulted in an Eddie Sullivan layup to give the Panthers a two point cushion. On the ensuing possession, Williams missed his attempt from the floor which allowed the Brown and Gold to go up by four on a Simpson jumper with 1:49 left to play.
 
With under a minute to go, the Chargers resorted to fouling, but the Panthers prevailed, connecting on three of six from the charity stripe to secure their 11^th victory by way of a 64-59 score and even out their record at .500.
 
The Panthers return to action on Saturday, February 9 when they host the Yellow Jackets of American International College at the Center for Recreation and Sport at 3:30pm.
 
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