Box Score

Garden City, N.Y. – Earlier this afternoon, the men's basketball team hosted the Dolphins of Le Moyne College for their first Northeast-10 matchup of the 2014 calendar year. Despite a career-high 23 points from Duane Morgan, and two other players in double figures, the Panthers were not able to overcome an eight-point halftime deficit and were defeated by a score of 75-59. With the loss, the Panthers slip to 3-9, 1-5 NE-10 while the Dolphins move to 7-5, 4-2 NE-10.
 
Morgan led the way with his 23 points on 7-11 shooting from the field and going 2-2 from behind the arc. Teammate Ryan DeNicola chipped in 14 points and nine boards while freshman Greg Davis' 13 points came on 4-11 shooting; three came from three-point land. As a team, the Panthers shot 41.5 percent from the floor and 46.2 percent from down town.
 
Le Moyne had four players in double figures and were led by Nate Gause's 23 points. Jim Janson and Qwadere Lovell each tallied 14 points apiece while Nate Champion scored 10.
 
The first six minutes was a back and forth affair that featured five ties. A dunk by Le Moyne's Janson sparked an 8-0 Dolphin run and gave them an eight-point lead at the 10:44 mark, one they would not relinquish for the rest of the game. Despite the deficit growing to as much as 11, ten first half points by DeNicola on an efficient 5-8 shooting from the floor enabled the Panthers to remain within striking distance.
 
A jumper by Anthony Libroia with 47 seconds left made it a five point game, but a triple from Nate Champion on the ensuing possession gave the Dolphins another eight-point cushion at the half.
 
Morgan exploded in the second half, scoring 20 points on 6-9 shooting from the floor and sinking seven of his 11 free throw attempts. Bookmarked by a layup and a three-pointer from the West Orange, NJ native, the Panthers used a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to five points.
 
However, it was short lived as Le Moyne's hot shooting grew their lead up to as much as 24 at its highest. The point differential in the latter stages of the game proved too much to overcome. Despite scoring nine of Adelphi's final 15 points down the stretch, Morgan and the Panthers ran out of time and were unable to mount a comeback.
 
Up Next
The Panthers are back in action when they host the Skyhawks of Stonehill College on Wednesday, January 8 with tip off at the Center for Recreation and Sports slated for 7:30 pm. A free HD webcast of the game will be streamed here while live stats will also be available. Additionally, you can catch all the action during the game on Twitter by following @AUPanthers.