Garden City, N.Y. - On the back of a career-high from
Ronnie Silva, the Adelphi University men's basketball team defeated local rival Molloy College 91-64 inside the Center for Recreation and Sports to close out the 2019 portion of the schedule.
Adelphi (9-3) extends its win streak to four, defeating all its opponents in the month of December by an average margin of 17.25 points. Silva used 13 field goals, including six from three-point range to bolster his career-best total of 35, as
Chris Coalmon and
Austin Beech also reached double-digit scoring in the win. Molloy also had three players score double-figures despite the loss, led by Josh Dennis who scored 14.
It took nearly 13 minutes in the opening half until the home team reached a ten-point advantage, after Silva landed a jumper in the paint. The Lions (5-6) kept it close in the opening minutes, not allowing a streak a more than five points from the Panthers. Silva and Beech were responsible for keeping their opponents at bay in the final three minutes of the first half as the former added five points to Beech's perfect 6-6 performance at the free throw line.
In the first half alone, Adelphi was 100 percent from the charity stripe - going a perfect 12-for-12, after Molloy committed nine to the hosts five.
The Brown and Gold's first four baskets of the second frame came from beyond the three-point line as Silva,
Spencer Foley,
Jared Rivers and
Chris Coalmon all drained buckets to push out to a 17-point lead at 16:29.
Owen Soontjens got in on the triple spree which solidified the Panthers' 20+ point advantage for the remainder of the contest, in a game where they shot 29.5 percent from downtown.
With 9:50 left in the second half, Silva added another jumper to give the home team its largest lead of the contest at 30 (73-43), en route to a 27-point win over the Lions.
The Panthers will open up 2020 on January 1, when they host Mercy College in non-league action. Game time is set for 5:00 p.m. following a non-league game for the undefeated women's basketball team at 3:00 p.m.
