By Matthew Wenz
While campus was still quiet before the spring semester kicked off, the Adelphi University Athletic Department recognized the efforts of the university's faculty and staff, featuring a highly anticipated matchup between two of the best basketball teams in the NCAA East Region.
On Tuesday, Jan. 14, the women’s and men’s basketball programs held an Employee Appreciation Night in the Center for Recreation and Sports (CRS). Prior to tipoff, employees were treated to catering sponsored by Moe’s Southwest Grill in the Campbell Lounge. Faculty and staff had the option of watching the games in Campbell with a livestream on FloSports or making their way downstairs for free admission to the double-header.
“We are excited to add this event to our annual offerings in the hopes of reaching our
Adelphi staff and engaging beyond the classroom,” said John Curto, coordinator of Athletics Engagement and Special Events. “While this was the first of its kind, we are looking forward to seeing more faculty and staff at all of our upcoming events on campus.”
About 35 members of the Adelphi faculty and staff from a variety of departments came out to support the ‘Cats for both women’s and men’s games.
The Adelphi women’s basketball program was fresh off a double overtime thriller against Southern New Hampshire University. The Panthers bested the Penmen by a score of 66-65, with senior guard Kaitlyn O’Connell pouring in a career high 30 points. Against the Pace Setters, head coach Sade Jackson ‘14 and company started the night with tight defense, causing three turnovers in the first quarter. Neither team was able to build an immediate lead, but Pace jumped out to a 23-15 advantage at the half.
Coming out of the halftime break, the visitors’ lead grew to as many as 12 points. Adelphi struggled to get offensive production in the third quarter, and the Setter’s never relinquished the lead. Pace held a 26-point lead late in the fourth, ending ultimately with a final score of 53-32. Sophomore guard Bella Asecncio led the Panthers offensively with eight points.
The Adelphi men’s basketball team came into the night riding an 11-game winning streak
and are receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches national rankings poll. The Setters came into the contest as a top-10 team in the country, ranking No. 7 in the same poll, shaping up for a battle of two heavyweights in the Northeast-10 Conference.
Head coach Dave Duke and his squad jumped out to an early 19-12 lead courtesy of a couple of three-point buckets from junior Mason Jackson and senior Andres Flugencio. It was clear that it would develop into quite a physical contest, with seven fouls called in the first 10 minutes of play. Midway through the first half the home team held onto an eight-point lead, with Pace looking to apply pressure in a full-court press. However, the Panthers continued to drain shots from all over the court while getting consecutive stops on defense from leading blocker in DII, senior forward Jarnell Rancy. At the half Adelphi held on to a 35-25 advantage.
Coming out of the halftime break, both teams struggled to find their footing offensively. After a series of turnovers, Adelphi scored on multiple fast-break opportunities forcing Pace to take a timeout. The Setters would not go down quietly as junior guard Jabari Nurse knocked down back-to-back threes to bring the visitors within striking distance. The CRS came to life when the Setters tried a full-court press and senior guard Matt Price found Rancy down the floor for a wide-open slam dunk. The next possession a Pace guard tried a reverse lay-up but the 6-foot, 8-inch Rancy added another block to his stat line.
The ‘Cats held on to a 57-45 lead with just under four minutes left. Pace made one final push cutting the lead to eight at the two-minute mark. The visitors continued to press Adelphi, resulting in critical turnovers that allowed Pace to come within six points at 23 seconds. In the end it was Flugenico and junior guard Dayshaun Walton who each made two shots from the charity stripe that iced the game for the Brown and Gold in a 67-59 upset win. Fulgencio led the Panthers with 16 points while adding three rebounds and an assist in the team’s twelfth straight win, the longest streak since the 2005-’06 season.
Looking ahead, Curto was excited to announce that on January 28, Athletics will be holding their annual Welcome Back Bash in another doubleheader against Bentley University.
“We’re going to be giving away beanie hats to the first 200 students in attendance between the two games,” said Curto. “We will also have our corporate sponsor Baya Bar in attendance and they will be giving out free sample smoothies throughout the event.”
Women are scheduled to tipoff at 5:30 pm, with the men to follow at 7:30 pm.
As the winter season continues, students are encouraged to attend home contests in the CRS. Admission is always free for students with a valid Adelphi ID. If a campus organization or club is looking to collaborate with Athletics, please reach out to John Curto at jcurto@adelphi.edu.
Keep up-to-date with teams by visiting aupanthers.com for schedules and results for all teams. Make sure to follow @aupanthers on Instagram and X.
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