Springfield, Mass. - Despite a 13-point lead at the half, the Adelphi University men's basketball team fell to American International College in the final seconds of Saturday's matchup, dropping a 69-68 decision inside the Henry A. Butova Gymnasium.
Adelphi (13-6, 9-4 NE10) put up a team shooting percentage of 53.6 in the opening half which included a 5-for-9 performance from beyond the arc, while the home team only landed two of 12 attempts from downtown. The visitors managed to run up the score using a seven-point run that ended with a
Seth Brown three-pointer to stretch the lead to 13.
Nearly two minutes went by before either team scored coming out of the halftime break, when AIC's Jalen Jordan broke the silence at 18:19. After trading a pair of threes, the home team began to chip away at their deficit, bringing the game within four after a nine-point swing while the Panther offense went cold.
With plenty of stoppages over the ensuing four minutes due to shooting fouls, the margin stayed in the single digits, with the Yellow Jackets cutting Adelphi's lead to just one with 8:16 left in regulation. Justice Ellison's jumper from a
Mason Jackson turnover gave the home team the lead for the first time since their opening basket at 16:26 in the first, but a
Conor Regan pull up jumper with 60 seconds to play tied the game at 67-all.
With
Dayshaun Walton at the free throw line, he landed the first but missed the second, giving the hosts a chance to head back down the court with nine seconds left to play. A late foul call under the basket had Adelphi fired up, but Ellison completed a perfect trip at the stripe to take a one-point advantage with 2.3 on the clock. A heave from
Elijah Lewis clanged off the rim as time expired, handing the Panthers just their fourth loss in NE10 play this season.
Lewis led the Cats with 17 points as Jackson came off the bench to contribute 16. The other scorer in double-digits was Walton, who finished with 15.
The Panthers return home for their next contest, featuring Pace University on Tuesday, Jan. 30.
