Garden City, N.Y. - Adelphi men's basketball got back on track with a home victory Wednesday afternoon, after outlasting Assumption College inside the Center for Recreation and Sports for a 74-72 decision.
Silva scored a team-high 26 points for Adelphi (14-5, 7-3 NE10), courtesy of 10-for-22 shooting from the field, which included six three-pointers. Also reaching double-digit scoring was
Chris Coalmon and
Spencer Foley, who accounted for 16 and 14, respectively, while combining for 16 rebounds. Leading the charge for the Greyhounds (10-7, 4-6 NE10) was Matthew Kelly who scored 17 points and grabbed three steals.
The Brown and Gold scored 14 unanswered points from the 17:48 mark in the first half to lead by 15 over a span of four minutes. Foley's jumper with 9:11 left in the opening frame gave the Panthers what would be their largest lead of the contest, but Assumption wasn't going down without a fight. The Greyhounds put up a 27-13 run over the ensuing minutes to overcome an 18-point deficit, ultimately trailing by two at the half.
The visiting team managed to score 13 points off nine Adelphi turnovers in the first, but came out of the break to score seven straight - their best scoring run in the frame - to take the lead. The teams were tied on three different occasions in the second half and experienced eight lead changes.
Silva scored 10 of his 26 points in the second half, while also dishing out five assists. His back-to-back threes, capped at 2:18 put the Panthers up by seven, but Jordan White of Assumption converted a three-point play to come within four with just over a minute left in regulation.
A late turnover and personal foul sent the Greyhounds to the free throw line where Kelly knocked down back-to-back shots to come within two. A missed jumper at the other end by Adelphi gave Assumption a final run down the court, but after two missed shots,
Austin Beech came down with the rebound at the sound of the buzzer.
The men's team will hit the road for a weekend trip to Franklin Pierce on Saturday, January 25 in Rindge, N.H. Tip-off is slated for a two o'clock start, after game times were shifted due to impending weather late in the day.