Garden City, N.Y. — Head coach Dave Duke and the Adelphi men's basketball team took a break from conference play on Wednesday night when they hosted nearby College of Staten Island at the Center for Recreation and Sport.
The game started off to a blistering pace with 23 points being scored in the first five minutes.
Adelphi fought back from being down seven and took a 21-16 lead after a Matthew Price steal led to a Dayshaun Walton driving layup.
The five point deficit did not faze the visiting Dolphins, however, as Staten Island changed up its defense, pressing the Panthers in their own end. The visitor began to make its three point shot and the Adelphi lead dwindled. In just six minutes the game flipped and the Dolphins took a ten point lead.
Duke called a timeout with just over two minutes remaining and it seemed to work. Good defense and timely passing from Walton to Al-Fatir Connor cut the Staten Island lead to six heading into the break.
The second half saw the Dolphins jump out to another 10 point lead just a minute and a half in but Adelphi fought back, going on a 12-2 run to tie up the ballgame. The run gave the 'Cats momentum and a leadf of their own, as buckets from Mason Jackson, Walton and Connor gave the home team an eight point edge.
Staten Island tried to get back into the game by continuing to press. Once again it was successful and the Dolphins got the game within one with just over two minutes to play. A clutch Connor layup put the 'Cats back up three but on the ensuing possession, Staten Island was fouled on a three pointer.
Fortunately for the Panthers, two of those attempts were misses and their lead remained. Walton and Connor iced the game on free throws and Adelphi took home a 70-65 victory.
Connor had a team-high 16 points, shooting 7-8 from the floor.
Jackson and Pierre Philippe poured in 15 themselves while Walton followed closely behind with 14. With 15:09 remaining in the second half, Walton scored his 1,000th career point while at the charity stripe.
Jackson led the Panthers with nine boards and Jarnel Rancy added six blocks to his nationally leading total.
The Adelphi men's basketball team will return to the court on Saturday when they head to Bridgeport at 3:30 p.m.
