Garden City, N.Y. - To start the spring semester, the Adelphi University men's basketball team played host to the Ravens of Franklin Pierce University on Thursday night at the Center for Recreation and Sports. After trailing by just three at the half, the Panthers were unable to contain the Ravens in the second half and fell by a final score of 75-62.
Adelphi (4-15, 1-12 NE-10) saw three players score in double figures, as
Anthony Libroia totaled 16 points behind 7-13 shooting.
Duane Morgan totaled 12 points while
Ryan DeNicola rounded out the trio with a "double-double" of 10 points and 13 rebounds. Franklin Pierce (12-7, 7-5 NE-10) saw a game-high 21 points from Ryen Vilmont, and had two other players net double figures.
The visiting Ravens jumped out to an 8-2 lead after almost five minutes of play as both teams struggled to create open shot opportunities in the early going. It was Franklin Pierce that seized control from that point, as consecutive threes from Paul Becklens, Vilmont and Aboubacar Casse saw the Ravens open up a 17-6 lead with 12:27 to play.
From there, the Panthers clawed back and knotted the score at 18-18 behind a Morgan trey with 8:17 to play. The Panthers took their first lead since 2-1 behind consecutive buckets from
Damon Coleman and DeNicola, before again equaling that four-point margin at 24-20 with 5:29 to play.
Adelphi led by three, 28-25, as late at 1:38, but the Ravens' Dustin Cole drained a three with 36 seconds to go to put his team in the locker room with a three-point lead, 31-28.
To start the second half, the Brown and Gold cut the deficit to two, 35-33, behind a Coffey three with 17:28 to play. However, behind consecutive three-points from Vilmont, the Ravens capped a 13-4 scoring run that saw them take an 11-point, 48-37 lead with 12:57 remaining.
The visitors continued to hold a double-figure advantage for the remainder of the half, with the Brown and Gold cutting it to single digits, 64-55, behind a Coleman trey with just over four minutes to play. Tyler Iacuone responded with a three of his own on the next possession to restore Franklin Pierce's advantage, and Adelphimanaged to cut the deficit to nine points just twice more the rest of the way.
The Panthers return to action on Saturday, January 31 when they travel up north to Colchester, Vt. to take on the Purple Knights of St. Michael's College in a 3:30 p.m. NE-10 contest.
