Junior Ivan Almeida led a balanced Stonehill attack with a game-high 16 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. (PHOTO BY Bert Lane) |
Almeida leads balanced Skyhawk effort for ninth win in last ten
Junior Ivan Almeida (Praia, Cape Verde) led a balanced Stonehill scoring effort with a game-high 16 points, on 6-for-14 shooting from the field, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Senior Daniel Heppert (Richmond, Va./Benedictine) added 15 points, shooting 7-for-11 from the field, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks, while junior Patrick Lee (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) contributed 12 points, shooting 3-for-6 from the field and converting all three free-throw attempts, to go with six boards. Sophomore Brian Hamor (Guilderland, N.Y./Bishop Gibbons) chipped in 11 points, shooting 4-for-9 from the field, including his lone three-point attempt, and converting both free-throw attempts, a career-high matching six assists and three steals. Senior Mike Kernan (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) pulled down a game-high matching 11 boards to go with eight points and two assists.
Senior Richard Byrd (Central Islip, N.Y./Copaigue) led four Adelphi players in double-figures with 15 points, four assists and three rebounds. Classmate David Akinyooye (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont Memorial) posted a double-double with 12 points, 11 boards, four blocked shots and three assists, while sophomore Chris Ranglin (Yonkers, N.Y./Gorton) contributed 14 points and five rebounds. Junior Robert Johnson (New Rochelle, N.Y./Tuckahoe) chipped in 13 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
Stonehill shot 47.3-percent (26-for-55) from the field, including 50% (13-26) in the first half in staking out an 11 point (37-26) halftime lead. The Skyhawks edged Adelphi in rebounding, 36-33, to pick up a 15-10 advantage in second chance points, while outscoring the Panthers 17-12 for points off turnovers. Adelphi finished shooting 44.8% (26-for-58) from the field after hitting at just 38.5% (10-for-26) in the first half. The Panthers got back in the game with 50% (16-32) shooting in the second half, including 5-for-11 (45.5%) from beyond the arc. Stonehill outscored Adelphi 12-5 at the free-throw line on 22 attempts, compared to eight for the guests.
Senior Daniel Heppert posted 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots (PHOTO BY Bert Lane) |
Adelphi scored five straight points to draw even (56-56) after a Ranglin three and Akinyooye layup with 8:13 to play. Stonehill held the Panthers right there and regained a two possession lead (60-56) after a Lee put back with 6:08 remaining. Adelphi was back within a point (61-60) with a Byrd jumper with 4:37 left, but Stonehill answered right back with an Almeida layup.
After trading baskets, Adelphi pulled within one again (65-64) on a Byrd layup with 1:36 remaining. Kernan missed a free-throw at the other end, giving the Panthers a chance to regain the lead in the final minute, but Byrd missed a jumper with 51-seconds to go. Hamor scored a jumper off his own miss to put the Skyhawks back up there (67-64) with 11-seconds to go and then Heppert got a piece of a Byrd corner jumper after a timeout. Sophomore Sam Markle (Bethany, Conn./Saint Thomas More) missed the front end of a one and one, to give the Panthers one last desperation attempt, but Hamor cut off the outlet pass to seal the win.
Adelphi held an early lead (9-7) after a Ranglin three 3:12 into the contest, when Stonehill notched a 10-0 run to claim an eight point cushion (17-9) after two Hamor free-throws with 12:49 to play in the half. The Panthers drew within two (17-15) on a Byrd jumper with 11:09 left, but the Skyhawks would later push their lead back to eight (30-22) with a Heppert put back with 3:37 to go before the break. Four quick Adelphi points had its deficit down to four (30-26) with two free-throws from Richard Harkins (Bellmore, Md./Long Island Lutheran) with 2:39 remaining. Stonehill closed half out with seven-straight points, capped by a running three at the buzzer by Hamor for an 11 point (37-26) advantage.
Two free-throws from Lee had the Stonehill lead to a game-high 13 points (39-26) to open the second half, but Adelphi closed within four (41-37) after a Harkins three with 17 minutes left. An Akinooye three pulled the Panthers within two (45-42) with 14:51 remaining, before pulling even (49-49) with a Ranglin jumper with 12:42 to play.
Byrd hit a jumper to push Adelphi back in front (51-49), but Stonehill scored seven straight to go back up five (56-51) after an Almeida jumper with 9:01 to go. Ranglin buried a three and Akinyooye scored a layup to force the 56-56 tie and final 8:13.
Stonehill (14-4, 9-4 NE-10) is back in action on Tuesday when it visits Le Moyne College for a Northeast-10 matchup at 7:30 p.m. The Skyhawks return home next Saturday to host The College of Saint Rose at 3:30 p.m. Adelphi (10-7, 6-7 NE-10) hosts Franklin Pierce University on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Postgame Interviews |