GARDEN CITY, New York - The American International College men's basketball team rounded out its season in a 78-77 loss to Adelphi University on Tuesday, February 20.
FAST FACTS:
Final Score:Adelphi 78, AIC 77
Location:Campus Recreation Gym, Garden City, New York
Records:AIC ends its season at 11-17 and 6-14 in Northeast-10 Conference play; Adelphi improves to 11-17 and 7-13 in NE10 action.
STATS LEADERS:
AIC:
Zekiah Owens: 20 points, 10 rebounds
Kassim Kaba: 13 points
Adonis Williams: 13 points, five rebounds, three assists
Tahlib Swan: Eight points, nine rebounds, five assists
Adelphi:
Michael Coffey: 24 points
Jack Laffey: 19 points, four rebounds
Terrel Martin-Garcia: 12 points, six rebounds, buzzer-beating layup
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Sophomore forward Zekiah Owens opened the game with a steal and a layup. AIC continued to roll, as in the first two and a half minutes, it led 7-3. The Panthers started to make a comeback and ended up taking their first lead at the 15:07 mark on a pair of free throws, 14-12. This was part of a 16-7 Adelphi run that ended with 14:08 on the clock as it led 19-14.
Midway through the first half, the Panthers had the 29-23 lead. That didn't slow the Yellow Jackets down, as just under two minutes later, they tied the game at 29. As the first half started to wind down, the Panthers had to jump out to a two-possession lead. At the break, Adelphi had a 44-41 lead.
Senior forward Tahlib Swan, who was held to just one point in the first half, laid one in just 12 seconds into the second half to start the scoring for the Yellow Jackets. After a Panther layup, the two teams traded a pair of threes and layups to make it a 51-48 game in favor of the home team just three minutes into the second.
The Yellow Jackets erased their deficit at the 14:05 mark, tying the game at 59, then took the 64-62 lead about a minute later. AIC continued to hold the lead until a three by the Panthers gave Adelphi the 70-69 lead with 5:29 left in the game.
With just 1:31 left in the game, the two teams were tied at 75 on a Panther layup. Owens went to the charity stripe for two with just 1:12 left in the game and knocked them both down. A Yellow Jackets foul sent the Panthers' Michael Coffey to the line, where he would only knock down one to make it a one-point game with just 55 seconds left in the game.
After two AIC missed shots, the Panthers had the ball with just eight seconds left. The Panthers had the ball on the sideline in front of their bench for an out-of-bounds play. The Panthers found Terrel Martin-Garcia for a layup with a second left to give them the 78-77 win and end the Yellow Jackets' hope of making the NE10 Championship.
GAME NOTES:
Owens' 20 points against the Panthers is a career high. His previous high was 19 against Saint Anselm on January 12.
The Yellow Jackets have recorded 20 straight games with nine or more assists.
Against the Panthers, the Yellow Jackets knocked down 10 threes. This marks the fifth time this season have the hit double-digits from deep.
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