Albany, N.Y. -- The Adelphi University men's basketball team hung tough with the second place Golden Knights of the College of Saint Rose on the road on Wednesday night before succumbing late, 85-68.

Manny Suarez tallied his second straight double-double for the Panthers (16-9, 9-8 NE10) in the setback, with a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Jack Laffey and Michael Coffey connected on a combined seven three-pointers for 19 and 14, respectively. Julian Lipinski led three Golden Knights (20-6, 12-5 NE10) in double figures with 22, with seven rebounds and five blocks.

A Laffey triple on the first possession opened the scoring for the Brown and Gold, but Adelphi quickly trailed as the hosts scored nine of the next 11 points. In what was a back-and-forth first half, neither side led by more than four for the duration of the opening 20 minutes. Coffey scored five straight for Adelphi to put the visitors back on top, 17-15, with 7:30 remaining, but a 14-7 scoring run for Saint Rose put the home team ahead by its largest margin, 29-24, with 3:35 to play in the opener. 

Clutch Adelphi shooting from behind the arc kept the Panthers close at the break, as the Brown and Gold responded to each Saint Rose effort in the closing minutes with a make from deep; Laffey sank a pair and Conor McGuinness dropped the third over the final 3:35 to keep pace with the Golden Knights' four buckets, making it a two-point game in Saint Rose's favor, 37-35 at halftime.

The game remained within one possession for much of the first five minutes of the second half before the Golden Knights began to pull away, as an 11-0 scoring run over 2:42 ballooned the Saint Rose lead from three to 14, 57-43 with 13:12 remaining. Adelphi pulled to within nine on two occasions, but the Golden Knights sealed the game with a 10-2 run late, holding the Brown and Gold without a field goal for nearly five minutes before the visitors managed to score eight of the last 11 points of the game. 

The Panthers, currently fourth place in the Southwest Division, host fifth-place New Haven in a 3:30 pm NE10 contest on Saturday, Feb. 11, looking to create some separation in the hunt for the NE10 playoffs. 

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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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