GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - The ninth-seeded Saint Michael's College men's basketball team lost to top-seeded Adelphi University, 85-77, on Sunday during a Northeast-10 Conference Championship quarterfinal in the Center for Recreation and Sport. The Purple Knights trailed by a single point until a little more than a minute remained against the Panthers, who were 17th in this week's D2 CSC national poll and second in the NCAA East Region rankings.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (9-21), Adelphi (26-6)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Senior Alan Brzezinski (Örebro, Sweden/Western Reserve Academy), 24 points, 7 rebounds, 6-for-12 three-pointers
• Senior CJ Crews (Tampa, Fla./Bayshore Christian School), 18 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists
• Redshirt first-year Greg Kenney (Williston Park, N.Y./The Frederick Gunn School/LIU), 17 points, 3 assists, 3 steals, 6-for-14 field goals
• Junior Nolan Marold (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Brewster Academy/Loyola Chicago), 5 rebounds, 2 blocks
• First-year Rico Byrd (East Moline, Ill./The Kiski School), 4 assists
• Senior Jacob Duniver (Fredericksburg, Va./Woodstock Academy), 3 assists

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Graduate student Tavin Pierre Philippe, 26 points, 4-for-6 three-pointers
• Junior Dayshaun Walton, 13 points, 3 assists, 3 steals
• Senior Jarnel Rancy, 12 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 blocks
• Junior Al-Fatir Connor, 12 points, 4 steals, 5-for-10 field goals
• Senior Andres Fulgencio, 10 points, 3 assists

GAME FACTS

• The Purple Knights held advantages in three-pointers (12-7) and three-point shooting (38.7%-33.3%), while the visitors shot 13-of-14 on free throws to the Panthers' 22-for-25 showing.
• The teams have now split four postseason meetings, with the first three contests occurring in the NCAA Tournament.
• Saint Michael's trailed by one point until 1:15 remained after losing the teams' two regular-season meetings by an average of 19.5 points.
• Crews hit 87 three-pointers this season, good for fifth in program history, while finishing his career fifth all-time in triples (237) and 19th in scoring (1,398).
• Duniver will graduate seventh at the College in career threes (224).

THE ACTION

• Shortly after the fourth early lead swing, Walton converted a steal into a three-point play that gave Adelphi a 14-9 lead at 14:10 of the opening half, and the Panthers twice went ahead by as many as 10 points. The hosts were up 30-20 for the second 10-point edge at 9:34.
• Still down seven, the Purple Knights rattled off a 13-2 run to end the half, with Kenney burying two three-pointers and Crews scoring five points. Brzezinski's lay-up with eight seconds left made it 45-41 at the intermission.
• Neither team led by more than four points in the second half until the late stages. Crews' lay-up with 5:56 left had his team ahead 66-62, and Kenney's dunk 27 seconds later countered a Fulgencio triple, keeping the Purple Knights up 68-65.
• After Pierre Philippe tied the game on a jumper at 4:05, Duniver's lay-up with 3:39 to go produced a 70-68 Saint Michael's lead.
• Pierre Philippe buried a go-ahead triple at 2:41 before Walton's pair of free throws 23 seconds later pushed the lead to three points.
• Saint Michael's twice trimmed its deficit to a single point, including 75-74 on Crews' two freebies at 1:37, but Rancy's putback dunk again made it a three-point game with 1:14 left.
• The Purple Knights had a pair of tying three-point looks fall offline on the next possession, which ended in a turnover, and the Panthers wrapped five free throws around two more Saint Michael's missed shots to push their advantage to 82-74 with 24 seconds left.
• Brzezinski buried a long three at 18.2 ticks, but Walton responded with two free throws to reestablish a three-possession buffer. The visitors missed their final two shots.