Springfield, Mass. -- An offensive explosion in the second half by the American International College Yellow Jackets handed the Adelphi University men's basketball team its final defeat of the regular season on Tuesday night, as the Panthers fell 92-80 on the road at Butova Gymnasium.

Michael Coffey led Adelphi (17-11, 10-10 NE10) in a scoring with a game-high 29 points and Conor McGuinness finished with 20 points. Coffey ended with a double-double as he led the team in rebounding as well with 11 boards for his first double-double of the season. 

The game was close most of the way with a total of 19 lead changes and seven ties, and the first half exemplified that with neither team building a lead greater than five. Adelphi hit the margin just once, at 15-10, as McGuinness knocked down a trey, but the lead was quickly erased when AIC scored seven of the next eight points to reclaim the lead with 11:51 on the clock. It was a one possession game for both sides for the duration of the half, with the Yellow Jackets pegging back every Adelphi attempt until Juwan Moody knocked down a three to give the hosts a four-point edge, 38-34, with 2:24 until halftime. Nonetheless, Adelphi responded, and Coffey and Austin Beech combined for the final six points of the half for the visitors, giving them a one-point margin at the break, 40-39.

AIC tied the action for the first time in the second half at 50-50 after the first 3:27, and a 10-4 run at the midway point of the half gave the Yellow Jackets their largest lead of the game, 73-66 with 6:58 on the clock. Adelphi quickly responded with eight of the next 10 points as Chris Millender scored a pair of buckets to whittle the lead to one with 4:27 remaining, but a 7-0 run for the hosts, capped by back-to-back dunks off Javyon Pitts-Young steals started to put the game out of reach late, and Adelphi was unable to make a comeback from there.

The Panthers earned the No. 4 seed in the Southwest Division in the upcoming NE10 Championship, and will host Bentley, the No. 5 seed from the Northeast, in a 7 pm first round game on Friday, Feb. 24.

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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.

For the latest on Adelphi University Athletics, follow the Panthers at www.aupanthers.com or via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat.

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