Syracuse, N.Y. – A late basket lifted Le Moyne to a 78-75 Northeast-10 Conference victory earlier this evening against the Adelphi University men's basketball team. Earlier today, the first release of the
NCAA East Regional Rankings had the Panthers slotted eighth.
With 13 seconds left, Russell Sangster put the Dolphins (9-15/6-12 NE-10) ahead 76-75 with a baseline layup after trailing by as many as nine in the half. Tanner Hyland then converted two free throws to help Le Moyne overcome a six-point deficit with less than three minutes to play.
Anthony Libroia led the Panthers (19-8/11-8 NE-10) with 22 points, five rebounds, and five assists while
Jack Laffey knocked down six 3-pointers for all 18 of his points in reserve duty.
Michael Coffey and
Manny Suarez combined for 22 points with
Ryan DeNicola adding 10 rebounds.
A double-double of 27 points and 11 rebounds for Stan Buczek led all individuals in both categories for Le Moyne. Sangster finished with 12 points while Hyland came off the bench for 13 points.
Seven ties and three lead changes framed a back-and-forth first half. The Brown and Gold held the largest lead of the period at seven points early on before a 7-0 run from Le Moyne tied the game at 17. However, Buczek scored 20 points in the half that included a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give the host a 41-38 advantage going to the break.
Buczek knocked down five 3-pointers in the half to help create the halftime margin. Laffey went 4-for-4 from beyond the arc himself to score all 12 of his points. Both teams controlled the ball well in the first 20 minutes with only five combined turnovers.
Each team grew their largest margin of the game during the second half as Le Moyne led by six points to open the period before Adelphi grew a nine-point lead with 6:42 remaining. The Panthers continued to lead at 71-65 with less than three minutes left before the Dolphin turnaround.
Le Moyne ended the game on a 13-4 run, including the layup from Sangster to take over the lead. Libroia nearly banked in a half court attempt to force overtime, however, the shot bounced off the backboard and rim as the final horn sounded.
The Dolphins finished with a 12-2 advantage in second chance points that was helped by a plus-four rebounding margin. In total, the contest witnessed 12 ties and seven lead changes.
The final regular season game for Adelphi is scheduled for Tuesday as the Panthers welcome American International for a 7:30 pm start. The evening also marks "Senior Night" as the program honors Libroia, DeNicola, and
Justin Jenkins with a pregame ceremony.
Notes: - DeNicola eclipsed 700 career rebounds this evening, finishing the night at 706. The senior is currently seventh on the Adelphi all-time rebounding list.
- In total, tonight's game was tied for more than seven and half minutes.
- The Panthers remain second in the Southwest Division at 11-8, one game ahead of Saint Rose at 10-9. The Golden Knights defeated Pace earlier this evening 59-56 to keep pace with the Panthers.
About Adelphi University AthleticsAdelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the fall of 2009 and in the past six seasons has collected 16 regular season conference titles, 21 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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