Manchester, N.H. -- Despite leading by 10 at the half, the Adelphi University men's basketball team fell to a late run by the Southern New Hampshire University Penmen, as the hosts rallied for an 83-77 win at the SNHU Fieldhouse in Manchester on Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers (13-5, 6-4 NE10), who led 45-35 at the half, were outscored 48-32 in the second frame to suffer their fourth conference defeat of the season. Michael Coffey paced the Panthers in the setback with 25 points, while Jack Laffey has a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. Conor McGuinness dished out 11 assists, and off the bench, Austin Beech and Nick Cambio combined for 22 points, with Cambio pulling down a career-high 12 rebounds. Four of SNHU's (12-3, 8-2 NE10) five starters scored in double figures, led by 31 points from Devin Gilligan.

The Brown and Gold jumped out to a 9-0 lead over the opening 3:05 as Chris Millender scored four points, stamping Adelphi's early authority on the contest. The gap was 10 midway through the opening half when a pair of Gilligan baskets sparked a 10-1 that trimmed the lead to 23-22 with 6:50 remaining. The Panthers nonetheless responded with six straight points as part of a 17-5 run, which was capped by a three from Coffey, that restored the lead to double figures at 40-27 with 2:20 to play. The Penmen scored eight of the final 13 points to close out the half, a sign of what was to come to begin the second frame.

Trailing 45-35 to begin the second, Southern New Hampshire flew out of the locker room on a 17-4 run – with seven points from Gilligan – to grab its first lead of the game at 52-49 with 14:40 remaining. Nonetheless, Adelphi again countered with an 11-2 streak, in which Cambio and Laffey struck from deep, that put the visitors back in front, 60-54, midway through the half.

The Penmen rolled in the final 10 minutes, thanks to a 23-6 run that featured eight points from Gilligan and seven from Dimitri Floras – to push out to a 77-66 advantage with 2:43 remaining in the game. While back-to-back dunks from Beech pulled Adelphi within four, the Panthers were unable to get close thanks to a 5-0 spurt which sealed the victory for Southern New Hampshire.

The Brown and Gold are back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 18, traveling to Stonehill for a 7:30 pm NE10 contest. 

NOTES
- Cambio has set new career highs in points and rebounds in his sophomore season thus far. 
- SNHU leads 10-6 all-time in the season series.

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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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