Garden City, N.Y. - With a slew of three-pointers in the opening half, the Adelphi University men's basketball team was able to hold on for a victory against the University of New Haven on Tuesday evening, 74-60, in front of a packed home crowd.
The Chargers (13-5, 10-3 NE10) had won three straight and seven of their last eight before entering the Center for Recreation and Sports, likely looking to make waves in the Northeast-10 Conference standings.
Ronnie Silva poured in a team-leading five baskets from beyond the arc en route to a 23 point performance, with 9-of-16 shooting from the field overall, which matches his season best.
Dayshaun Walton was the only other scorer for Adelphi (10-11, 4-9 NE10) to reach double-digits with 13, adding six rebounds to boot.
Elijah Lewis dished out a career-best five assists, as the team contributed 16 for the game.
The home team opened the scoring for both sides with their first of 14 three pointers on the night, less than a minute into action and never relinquished the early lead. With the help of a driving layup from Walton at 5:28 in the first half, the Panthers worked out to their largest lead of the frame, at 13. It was the visiting team that cut the deficit to single digits down the stretch, but a banked shot from Silva at the buzzer put Adelphi up 12 heading into the break.
After trading layups, including a two-pointer from leading scorer for New Haven Ty Perry, the hosts managed to extend their lead to 16, this time on a three courtesy of
Mason Jackson at 16:08.
Silva put in a tre from the AU logo on the floor to put the Chargers back by 18, which was a comfortable enough lead for the home team to ride throughout the remainder of the contest.
With very few fouls drawn by either side, both teams were 75 percent or better from the charity stripe with Adelphi winning the battle of the boards, 32-26.
Adelphi men's hoops will be back inside the CRS on Saturday, Jan. 28 when they host Saint Anselm College. Tip-off is scheduled to follow the women's team at approximately 3:30 p.m.
