Box Score BOX SCORE
When and Where: January 16, 2016 – Garden City, N.Y. (Center for Recreation and Sport)
Score: Adelphi University 77, Southern New Hampshire University 72
Records: Adelphi 15-3 (7-3 Northeast-10), SNHU 10-7 (6-4 Northeast-10)
Senior Rodney Sanders (Elizabeth, N.J.) scored a game-high 25 points, but the Southern New Hampshire University men's basketball team suffered a 77-72 loss to Adelphi University after leading by as many as 22 on Saturday at the Center for Recreation and Sport.
Sanders shot 7-for-16 from the field, including 3-for-8 from long range, and a perfect 8-for-8 from the stripe, to go along with five rebounds and four assists. Classmate BJ Cardarelli (Manchester, Conn.) netted 13 points (4-12 FG, 1-3 3-FG, 4-4 FT), with freshman Daquaise Andrews (Queens, N.Y.) posting his first career double-double with 12 points (5-10 FG, 2-4 FT) and a career-best 10 rebounds.
Manny Suarez paced Adelphi with 19 points, while Michael Coffey added 17 points.
The Panthers leapt out to a 16-6 lead in the first five minutes behind six points each from Suarez and Coffey, as well as four from Anthony Libroia. Five straight points from Cardarelli, however, triggered a 17-3 counter-surge that gave SNHU a 23-19 lead with 10:18 remaining in the opening half. Junior Jerome Harris (Hartford, Conn.) capped the stretch with back-to-back 3-pointers to give him a team-best six points during the span.
Adelphi would pull within one at 25-24 over a minute later, but Southern New Hampshire ripped off another huge run at 20-2 to break open a 45-26 advantage with 3:40 left. Sanders led the way with 12 points during the stretch. The Penmen would bring their largest lead of the game into the locker room at 52-30.
The Panthers would score seven straight to begin the second half before SNHU nudged the lead to 19 at 56-37 with 16:32 remaining. From there, however, Adelphi would erupt for a 26-7 run – led by 12 points from Tavon Ginyard – to knot the game at 63-all with 5:05 on the clock.
After Adelphi briefly grabbed a one-point lead, the game was tied at 66 with just over three-and-a-half minutes to play when junior Devin Gilligan (Amherst, N.H.) hit one of two at the line to put SNHU back in front. Suarez would answer with a pair at the stripe to put the Panthers on top and trigger a game-closing 11-5 run that gave Adelphi the win.
In his first game in a Penmen uniform, Harris tallied eight points (3-5 FG, 2-3 3-FG), six rebounds, five steals, two blocks and an assist. Fellow junior Adrian Oliveira (Pawtucket, R.I.) chipped in six points (2-5 FG, 1-2 3-FG, 1-3 FT) and four assists.
Notes:
-Adelphi outshot Southern New Hampshire, 44.1 percent (26-59) to 40.4 percent (23-57), including 43.8 percent (14-32) to 29.2 percent (7-24) from beyond the arc and 51.7 percent (15-29) to 16 percent (4-25) in the second half.
-SNHU held an advantage at the free throw line, going 19-for-24 (79.2%), while Adelphi was 11-for-14 (78.6%).
-The Panthers outrebounded the Penmen, 40-32, while SNHU captured the paint (26-22) and featured a better assist-to-turnover ratio (13/11-14/18) for a 26-13 gap in points off turnovers.
-Sanders scored in double-digits for the 14th straight game.
Up Next:
The Penmen are back in action Wednesday, Jan. 20 (7:30 p.m.) when they take on Southern Connecticut State University in a game that can be heard live on WGIR 610-AM. The next home game for the Penmen is Saturday, Jan. 23 (3:30 p.m.) when they play host to the University of New Haven at the Fieldhouse. Tickets can be purchased HERE or at the box office on the day of the game.
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