Honolulu, Hawaii — Head coach Dave Duke and the Adelphi men's basketball team tipped off their first game of the Hoops in Hawaii Classic late last night when they took on Hawaii Hilo in the HPU Shark Tank. 

The game started off slow, with only 12 points being scored in the first six minutes. The Panthers held an 8-4 lead at that point before an offensive outburst by Al-Fatir Connor, Mason Jackson and Tavin Pierre Philippe put Adelphi up 17 with just under five minutes to play in the half. 

A series of lineup changes for Hilo would seemingly flip momentum, however, as the game went into halftime with the Vulcans on an 11-4 run. 

Adelphi continued its dominance in the paint early in the second period with Connor and Andres Fulgencio slashing to the basket to give the 'Cats another double digit lead. The lead would once again get up to 17 for Adelphi with 10 minutes to play but that was where its shooting woes would begin. 

Hilo suddenly began to hit its shots beyond the three point line while the Panthers struggled. The Adelphi lead began to shrink and with three minutes left in the game, the score was tied at 60. 

Two shots from the Vulcans would put them up three with 39 seconds remaining before Jackson cut the lead to one. A missed free throw from Hilo gave the Panthers a chance to win the game at the buzzer but a jump shot from Jarnel Rancy rimmed out and Adelphi fell 65-64. 

Pierre Phillipe had a team-high 14 points with Fulgencio scoring 13 and leading Adelphi with seven boards. 

Rancy blocked a season-high six shots in the game. 

The 'Cats will look to bounce back on Saturday night when they take on Hawaii Pacific at 7 p.m. HST/12 a.m. EST.