Garden City, N.Y. - With a team shooting percentage above 50, the Adelphi University men's basketball team held on for a 79-70 victory over Southern Connecticut on Wednesday, inside the Center for Recreation and Sports.
The Panthers (13-5, 9-3 NE10) shot an impressive 69.2 percent from the floor in the opening half (18-for-26) with everyone in the game landing at least one basket.
Dayshaun Walton led the charge going 4-for-5 with two makes beyond the arc for a game-leading 12 points. Ultimately, the sophomore finished with 23 points including a 6-for-7 clip at the charity stripe.
It was Walton's driving layup under the 10-minute mark in the first that Adelphi began to pull away from the Owls (12-6, 6-6 NE10), stretching its lead to 13 courtesy of a Regan three-pointer to close out the half.
On the other side of the break, back-to-back free throws from Regan gave the home team its largest lead of the contest (15), but Southern Connecticut wasn't going down without a fight. The Owls used a 9-2 run to cut their deficit to single digits at 14:35 in the second, and continued to decrease the margin, getting as close as five on a Mason Williams' basket at 12:10.
Walton drained another three-pointer over four minutes later to push the Panther lead back out to 14, challenging the visitors to once again make a run at the lead. Another 10-2 run in favor of SCSU saw the host lead cut to five with under a minute left in regulation, but successful trips to the line from Adelphi kept its opponent at bay.
For the game, Adelphi finished 18-for-24 from the stripe but were out-rebounded 35-27, including an 11-3 disparity in offensive boards that earned the Owls seven points.
Regan and
Mason Jackson each chipped in 10 points with
Elijah Lewis accounting for 16 while also collecting four steals and dishing out thee assists.
Dave Duke and the team head to American International for their second meeting of the season on Saturday, Jan. 27. The Panthers took an 85-78 victory from the Yellow Jackets and are 8-2 in their last 10 meetings.
