Box Score
Pleasantville, N.Y. - The men's basketball team picked up their first win of the 2013-2014 season earlier this evening against Pace University. Behind double-digit scoring from three different players and a late second half surge, the Panthers managed to come away with the 61-51 victory. With the win, Adelphi moves to 1-4, 1-3 NE-10 while Pace's record now stands at 2-5, 1-3 NE-10.
Duane Morgan was the game high scorer as he put in a career high 18 points, half of which came from the charity stripe. He also managed six rebounds and three blocks in the win. Fellow big man Ryan DeNicola did his part with 16 points and eight boards while Anthony Librioa contributed 15 points on an efficient 6-7 shooting from the field to go along with his seven rebounds. Freshman Damon Coleman and sophomore transferMatthew Citron combined for the final 12 of Adelphi's 61 points.
As a team, the Brown and Gold shot .440 from the field and went 3-8 from behind the arc while sinking 14-17 from the charity stripe. Additionally, they won the battle of the boards, pulling down 35 loose balls compared to Pace's 33.
Adelphi established themselves as the early leader after a Citron fastbreak layup at the 17:04 mark put his team in the lead. The two-possession game held for nearly seven minutes until three consecutive free throws from Morgan gave them a seven point cushion; their largest to that point.
A Kai Smith jumper made it a three point game, but contributions from DeNicola, Morgan and Libroia quickly extended the buffer up to nine, 30-21 with under three minutes to play. Before the half, a Coleman triple and a free throw by Kevin Berardini made it a 33-27 game in favor of Adelphi as both teams headed into the intermission.
Off to a rocky start in the second act, the Brown and Gold struggled from the field, hitting on just two of 11 attempts and missing out on five second chance opportunities. Pace capitalized and used a 14-6 run over the ensuing 8:13 to turn the deficit into a two point Setter cushion, 41-39.
The Panthers took a brief lead thanks to six unanswered points, but Pace was resiliant and tied it once again at 45-45 after Smith connected on a layup at the 7:11 mark. On the ensuing possessions, Adelphi shot 5-6 from the floor to spark a 12-2 run, capped by a DeNicola lay in to give them a 10 point lead.
