West Haven, Conn. - Chris Millender and Manny Suarez helped the Adelphi University men's basketball team capitalize on a front court advantage, outscoring the University of New Haven 42-26 in the paint, in a 82-76 Northeast-10 victory on Tuesday night.

Millender and Suarez led the Adelphi (4-1, 2-1 NE-10) offensive effort with 23 points each, while Millender added eight rebounds to his Adelphi career-high point total and Suarez picked up nine misses. They were joined in double figures by Michael Coffey, who scored 17 with five rebounds, while Jack Laffey chipped in nine points and Conor McGuinness had a team-high five assists. 

The Chargers (2-3, 1-2 NE-10) opened the game strong, building a 10 point lead, 21-11, just 6:10 into the action on a Michael Bourke triple. Adelphi responded with a three-pointer of their own off the hand of Coffey just 39 seconds later, sparking a 14-2 Panther run, turning the deficit into a two point lead on a Suarez lay-up, 25-23 with 8:48 on the clock.

The Brown and Gold took their largest lead of the first half on another Coffey make, this one coming from in close, and putting Adelphi on top by seven, 39-32, with 3:39 remaining in the first. New Haven answered with a 10-3 run that tied the score a 42-all with under a minute remaining. However, Millender converted a lay-up with under a minute to play, sending the Panthers into the locker room with a two point lead, 44-42 at the intermission.

Adelphi continued to lead early in the second half, thanks to another Millender bucket, this time a triple 1:40 into play, which made it a three point Panther advantage, 50-47. However, a New Haven jumper from Danny Upchurch kicked off an 8-0 Charger burst, shifting the momentum back to the hosts, 55-50 at the 13:24 mark. 

Another Millender effort, this time an old fashioned three-point play, put Adelphi back on top, 59-57 with 9:26 to play and the Panthers would not trail the rest of the way. The hosts managed to cut the lead to one just once in the second frame, thanks to a Bourke three with 6:21 to go, but Coffey emphatically answered for Adelphi with a make from beyond the arc just 12 seconds later, pushing the lead back to four, 68-64.

In the final minute, the Brown and Gold shut the door on New Haven, going eight for eight from the charity stripe, claiming an 82-76 win.

Adelphi will take to the court again on Sunday, Sunday, November 27 when they welcome Queens College into the Center for Recreation and Sports for a 3:30 pm tip-off.

Notes:
- The Panthers are 22-13 all-time against New Haven, including three straight wins. Adelphi's last loss to the Chargers came on February 24, 2015 (62-61).
- Manny Suarez is currently ranked among the top-five in the Northeast-10 in three statistical categories, total blocks (1st-14), rebounds per game (5th-9.4) and points per game (5th-19.0). 
- Adelphi is also the only team in the Northeast-10 with two players among the top-five in the conference in scoring, with Michael Coffey (4th-19.2) joining Suarez.

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About Adelphi Athletics:
Adelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the fall of 2009 and in the past seven seasons, has collected 20 regular season conference titles, 24 tournament championships, 29 individual crowns and captured the Northeast-10 Presidents' Cup three times (2013, 2014, and 2016), while winning five NCAA Division II National Championships.

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