Riverdale, N.Y. – The Adelphi men's basketball team inbounded the ball with four seconds on the clock, tied 86-all against Manhattan College in Riverdale, and Michael Coffey sunk a 30 foot three-pointer as time expired to give the Panthers a 89-86 victory in the exhibition contest.

Manny Suarez and Coffey led the Panthers with 26 points each, combining to shoot 12-23 from beyond the arc. Suarez also led the Brown and Gold in rebounds with a team-high eight, while Ryan DeNicola grabbed six boards. Tavon Ginyard had a solid debut for Adelphi, dropping in 12 points and adding six assists, while fellow freshman Conor McGuinness netted 14 with three helpers.

Adelphi opened the first frame with a barrage of triples, making four of eight including three from Coffey, to lay claim to a 12-6 lead at the 15:09 mark. The Panthers pushed the advantage to eight twice in the first half -- first on a Suarez make from beyond the arc, 17-9 and the second time on a Ginyard deep make with 9:12 to play, 25-17.

The hosts answered with an 18-8 run that put the Jaspers on top by two, 35-33, with 3:16 remaining in the first stanza. However, the Brown and Gold proved equal to the task, reeling off an 11-0 spurt that gave them the largest lead of the first half, 44-35 with less than a minute to play. But, Manhattan got two points back on two Shane Richards made free throws, giving the Panthers a seven-point lead at the intermission, 44-37.

The Jaspers outscored Adelphi 16-8 in the opening four minutes of the second half, claiming just their second lead of the contest, 53-52 on a Richards triple. The Brown and Gold responded by taking control of the contest and building the largest lead of the game over the next 10 minutes, laying claim to what seemed like an insurmountable 16-point bulge, 83-67 on a McGuinness corner three-pointer with 4:14 left in the contest.

However, in the final four minutes of the contest, Manhattan turned up the defense and threw a full court zone press at the Panthers, sparking a 19-3 run that knotted the game at 86-all with just four ticks on the clock. Fortunately for Adelphi, they had all the answers to the test, pushing the ball up the court and finding Coffey 30 feet from the basket. He was able to collect and hit a triple as the buzzer sounded to hand Adelphi a three point, 89-86 win over the reigning MAAC Champions.

The Panthers will travel to Queens, New York on Friday, November 13 when they face East Coast Conference member, Dowling College in a 5:00 pm contest as part of the Northeast-10/ECC Challenge.  

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About Adelphi Athletics
Adelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the fall of 2009 and in the past six seasons has collected 15 regular season conference titles, 20 tournament championships, 27 individual crowns and captured the Northeast-10 President's Cup twice (2013 and 2014), while winning five NCAA Division II National Championships.

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