Manchester, N.H. - Despite holding a five-point lead at the half, the Adelphi University men's basketball team was unable to pull off the upset on the road on Saturday afternoon, as the top-seeded Southern New Hampshire University Penmen came away with a 97-95 decision in the Northeast-10 Championship quarterfinals.

The Panthers, the No. 4 seeds out of the Southwest Division, conclude the 2016-17 campaign at 18-12 overall with a loss in the quarterfinals for the second straight year, as the league's defending champion Penmen (20-7) move to the NE10 semifinals slated for Wednesday, March 1. 

Leading the offense for the Brown and Gold was Michael Coffey, who scored 23, coming off a 44-point performance in the NE10 first round Friday evening. Austin Beech and Manny Suarez were both responsible for double-doubles in the contest; the former netted 20, adding 10 rebounds and six assists as Suarez knocked down 21 with 11 rebounds and two blocks. Rounding out double-figures was Jack Laffey who accounted for 15 behind 6-for-12 shooting from the field, while Nick Cambio came off the bench for a career-high-tying 13 points on 5-7 shooting.

The Panthers came out of an early hole to take an 8-7 lead over the Penmen, courtesy of a Suarez layup, which was extended on a follow up three-pointer from Coffey. The home team regained the advantage by scoring five of the next seven points, but not for long as Cambio came off the bench, contributing a jumper at 12:58 that put the game back in favor of Adelphi. A fastbreak lay-in from Beech capped a 7-0 run for the Brown and Gold that stretched the lead to eight, the high mark of the half for Adelphi, however, offensive pressure and a 10-3 run from the top seeds knotted the game at 38-all. 

The visitors closed out the first half with a 7-2 spurt that gave the Panthers a five-point upper-hand as both teams broke for the locker room. Adelphi continued to stay hot on offense, opening the second frame with an 11-4 run to push their lead to double-digits, with a high of 14 coming three on made triples from Laffey and Conor McGuinness, and the last thanks to a Suarez bucket for 70-56 with 12:25 to play. After the 10-minute mark in the second, SNHU slowly began chipping away the built up lead, committing a 12-4 run that brought them within one with 6:33. Over the next four minutes, the teams traded baskets, but laffey sank a three to make it a two-possession game, 89-83, with 3:49 to play.

Closing a 6-0 run, Daquaise Andrews made a layup that locked the game at 89-89 but back to back lay-ins from Beech helped Adelphi keep the home team at bay as the noise level continued to rise in favor of the Penmen. Missed free throws and late turnovers plagued the Panthers, as the Brown and Gold turned the ball over with a chance to win it on the final possesion, handing the higher seed the narrow 97-95 victory as a result. 

NOTES
- The winning season pushes Dave Duke's coaching career at Adelphi to over .500 (44-41), after just three seasons at the helm. 
- Manny Suarez finished the season third in the conference in rebounds per game (9.4) and total rebounds (281).
- Austin Beech, who played in all 30 contests for the Panthers, led the conference in FG percentage (68.2).

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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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