Colchester, Vt. – The Adelphi men's basketball team ended their three-game losing streak on Saturday afternoon with a close 77-75 win over Saint Michael's. Trailing for a majority of the game, a strong second half of shooting propelled the Panthers to their third conference win of the season.
Series History:
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Adelphi (11-4, 3-2 NE10) moves to 14-6 against the Purple Knights since 2006 and carry an eight game win streak since the 2021-22 season. The last matchup between the two squads was an 85-77 Panther victory in the 2023-24 Northeast 10 quarterfinal. Tavin Pierre Philippe scored 26 while Jarnel Rancy had a 12 point, nine rebound, five block game in the win.
Highlights:
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Patrick Burke continued his impressive streak of play, recording his second consecutive double-double. The junior scored 17 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds.
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Dayshaun Walton scored a game-high 23 points, shooting 7-12 from the floor and knocking down eight of his ten free throw attempts.
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Jarnel Rancy scored nine points while tallying three rebounds and three assists after missing the last two games.
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Matthew Price and Zakari McQueen both added nine points as well. Price knocked down the game-winning free throws with 2.5 seconds to play and McQueen shot 3-5 from three point land.
How It Happened:
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The game started off with a relatively neutral pace. Adelphi held its largest lead at 8-4 five minutes into the half, but it was quickly erased.
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Saint Michael's hit their jump shots early and led by as many as nine halfway through the period.
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The Panthers fought back, making sure the game did not get out of hand. A Burke three followed by four points from Walton cut the lead all the way down to two with six minutes remaining.
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The teams would trade made shots and the Panthers were able to tie the score twice at 25 and at 30. A free throw and three pointer with 19 seconds to play saw the Purple Knights take a four point lead into the break.
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In the second half, Saint Michael's continued to lead for the first eight minutes. Down by as many as seven, the Panthers continued to make timely shots and did not let the game get away from them.
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A Rancy jumper put Adelphi within one before a pair of Burke free throws gave the Cats the lead.
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McQueen hit two clutch three points just before the eight minute media timeout to swing momentum completely in Adelphi's favor.
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The Panthers held a lead as large as six multiple times but the Purple Knights would not go away, responding with a big shot every time they needed one.
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With under one minute to play, Saint Michael's was forced to foul to get Adelphi to the line. Price and Walton made the shots they needed, but the home team again hit a clutch shot to get Adelphi's lead down to two with 2.5 seconds remaining. The Purple Knights stole the ball, but great defense led to a missed shot and Adelphi rebound.
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A foul was called on Saint Michael's but a technical foul was also given to the Adelphi bench. The result was a pair of free throws for both teams. Zocko Little tied the game for the home team, but Price was clutch for the Panthers making both of his attempts to seal the game. A half court heave clanked off of the rim and Adelphi won 77-75.
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Adelphi held Saint Michael's to 9-29 shooting in the second half and 1-7 from three while shooting 10-21 itself and making five threes.
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The Panthers outrebounded the Purple Knights 34-33.
Up Next:
Hear from Coach Duke:
- "I am very proud of the guys for the effort and mental fortitude they played with to win on the road. Saint Mike's is a very good physical and well coached team and I thought our guys matched that physicality very well for 40 minutes."
