Garden City, N.Y. - The Adelphi University men's basketball team's eight game win streak came to a halt Tuesday evening, when the Skyhawks of Stonehill College stole the show en route to a 74-57 decision inside the Center for Recreation and Sports.
The Panthers (13-4, 6-2 NE10) were held to a mere 35.7 shooting percentage for the contest and their lowest scoring output this season, despite being led by
Ronnie Silva, who collected 19 points in the loss.
Chris Coalmon also reached the double-digit mark, scoring 14 on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. Stonehill (10-6, 6-2 NE10) saw a season high performance from senior Will Moreton, who produced 35 points on an astounding 14-19 shooting from the field, which included five three pointers.
Silva drained a three-pointer in the early going that put Adelphi up by five at 14:36, but the Skyhawks used a 10-4 run to lead by one over the next seven minutes. Even at 19-19 with around six minutes to play in the opening half, the visitors used another 12-4 spurt to head into the break with an eight point advantage.
The home team was held to sub-20 percent shooting from three-point range, on 16 attempts while Stonehill managed to stay consistent from beyond the arc, draining four on seven attempts in the opening frame.
Adelphi's offense turned cold coming out of the locker room, while Stonehill worked out to a double-digit lead which they would not relinquish, less than a minute into the second half. Silva and
Dwaine Williams kept the deficit respectable, but a 13-3 bout from the Skyhawks put the visitors in a comfortable position with 10 minutes to go in regulation.
Spencer Foley put away back-to-back threes in a stretch that was capped with two consecutive lay ins from Coalmon, however the team still trailed by nearly 20.
An 8-0 stretch for the visiting team put them at their largest advantage of the contest, 69-41 with 6:13 left to play, however Adelphi continued to play, knocking down three straight buckets from downtown, featuring contributions from
Andrew Delaney and
Owen Soontjens. Silva made all five of his free throw attempts in the final 3:01 of the game, but it was not enough to overcome the lead that Stonehill had put together.
The team returns to action on Saturday, January 18 when they travel to take on the Hawks of Saint Anselm College. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.