Garden City, N.Y. - In a game that came down to the final possession, the Adelphi University men's basketball team was unable to close out its fourth consecutive win, falling 78-80 to St. Thomas Aquinas College on Thursday.
Elijah Lewis managed to tie the game at 78-all with under a minute to play, but the Spartans came back to the other end of the court with back-to-back free throw makes of their own to take the lead. With a mere 14 seconds to tie the game or launch a gamewinner, the Panthers drew up a play that fell short as the horn sounded despite an effort to the hoop.
In a fast paced game from the start,
Mason Jackson recorded a layup at 12:59 that made it 20-10 in favor of the home team, but in response, the Spartans (12-2) put up an 18-4 run to regain the advantage for the remainder of the half.
After the opening 20 minutes
Matthew Price was the lone Panther in double-figures, after accounting for 10 on 4-of-7 shooting from the field.
Adelphi (6-8) came out of the break with an 11-2 run of their own that returned the upper hand to the hosts, but a tightly contested game down the stretch saw no team lead by more than four over the next seven minutes. Price grabbed an offensive board that sparked a 10-point run for the Brown and Gold to bring the game back even at 78-all.
Ronnie Silva, who finished with a team-leading 22 points, was responsible for five points in that stretch, including two key free throw makes.
With time not on their side, the home team couldn't land a bucket in the final seconds, halting the Panthers' three-game win streak in non-conference action. From the charity stripe, Adelphi was 12-for-18 as STAC made three more on as many attempts. The Panthers pulled down four more rebounds but committed six more turnovers than their opponents.
The Adelphi University men's basketball team will return to the Center for Recreation and Sports on Wednesday, January 4 when they welcome Northeast-10 Conference opponent Pace University for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. The men's game will follow the women's contest which is set to begin at 5:30 p.m.
