Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Jan. 28, 2009) Adelphi University took second-ranked men's basketball down to the wire, but Nick Carter (Huntington Station) hit 4-of-4 free throws in the last 20 seconds to ice the win for the Pioneers and keep them unbeaten on the season, 67-61, in front of a packed house at the Pratt Recreation Center on Wednesday evening.

C.W. Post, the top team in the East Region according to the NCAA Division II Regional rankings that were released this afternoon, improves to 15-0 overall and 9-0 in conference play, while Adelphi slips to 12-6 and 6-3 in the ECC.

The Pioneers jumped out to a quick lead to start the game as Kevin Spann's trey at 16:20 put Post up 6-0. Adelphi quickly answered back, cutting the lead to 6-5, but another CWP run put them up 13-7 with 10:50 remaining. But a resililient Adelphi clawed back yet again, and after Mike McDuffie's two free throws, the Pioneer lead was cut to 14-12 with 10:11 to play in the half. 

A 12-0 Pioneer run doubled the home team advantage, putting them up 24-12 with 6:51 left in the first half, but a 7-0 Panther run cut the lead back down to five. The Pioneers pushed their advantage back to double digits and went into the half with a nine-point lead over the Panthers.

A jumper by Lyndon Daniel (St. George's, Grenada) opened the half for the Pioneers, and they led by 11 points after Kenny Burkes hit both free throws at 19:01. But a four-point play by Alvin Vivican followed by another trey from the Panther quickly cut the Pioneer lead down to four, and a tip-in by Sky Khaleel at 16:27 saw the Panthers down by only two, 43-41. 

The teams traded baskets back and forth as the Pioneers held onto the lead. After Khaleel's layup at 11:08 cut the Pioneer lead down to a single point, Post scored the next five points of the game capped by a three-point play from Jonathan Schmidt (Centereach, N.Y.). The lead would stretch to six points with 8:24 left to play, but another Adelphi surge and a layup by Khaleel drew the Panthers to within one point at 5:54. Gilbert Montalvo's free throw followed by Daniel's dunk gave the hosts a four-point advantage with 4:24 to play, and a free throw by Burkes put them up by five with 3:52 remaining. 

Neither team was able to find the basket until Vivican's trey with 27 seconds remaining pulled the Panthers to within a basket, 63-61. But Carter took over, hitting two from the charity stripe with 18 seconds left, and then another two with four seconds on the clock to give the Pioneers the win. 

The Pioneers shot 44.4% from the field (20-of-49) and 8-of-20 (40%) from the charity stripe. They held a 67-61 advantage on the glass and outscored the Panthers, who shot 40.8% from the field, by a 24-16 margin in the paint. 

Carter led the Pioneers with a 19 point effort, including 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. Burkes added 12 points, eight rebounds, and a team-high nine assists. Spann added 12 points including three treys in the first half, and Schmidt finished with 11 points and six assists. 

Vivican led the Panthers with 16 points, and got double figures from Casey Cosgrove with 13 points and Sky Khaleel and David Akinyooye with 12 points each. 

C.W. Post will remain at home as they take on Queens College on Saturday, Jan. 30, at 3:30 p.m.