Flushing, N.Y. - On Saturday, the Adelphi University men's basketball team bounced back from a season-opening defeat in the ECC/NE10 Challenge with a rousing 91-87 win against Molloy University at Queens College's Fitzgerald Gymnasium in Flushing.

Both teams had a hot hand from the field in the opening half. Adelphi shot a sizzling 57.1 percent (20-of-35), while Molloy made 60.0 percent (21-of-35) of its shots.

By halftime, the Panthers (1-1) were halfway to eclipsing the century mark with a 50-44 advantage.

Adelphi led by as many as 20 points in the opening twenty minutes, before Molloy stormed back late. The Brown and Gold got a balanced scoring effort from its starting five, with three players tallying double figures by halftime.

Aristotelis Sotiriou led all Adelphi players with 12 points in the first half. Matthew Price dropped in 11 points, and Ronnie Silva scored 10 points.

A 20-6 run to end the first half later extended to a 31-8 outburst that gave Molloy (0-2) a 55-52 lead four-plus minutes into the second half.

Adelphi played from behind for much of the second half, but a 10-0 run in the final minutes had the Panthers back in front for good.

Trailing 76-74 with almost six minutes left in regulation, the Brown and Gold made three of its next four shots and 11-of-14 free throws down the stretch to complete the comeback.

In the second half, Elijah Lewis broke out onto the scene with 13 points in his second game of collegiate action.

After establishing a new career-high last night, Sotiriou built on that number again with a 23-point day. Silva went off for 21 points on 8-of-18 shooting. Lewis totaled 16 points in 25 minutes off the bench and posted a game-high plus-12 rating.

The Panthers now prepare for Wednesday's 2022-23 home opener and a 7 p.m. opening tip against Bloomfield College at the Center for Recreation and Sport.