Panther Playoff Party Gets Crashed

by Mark Ginocchio

After winning 7 games in a row heading into the NYCAC tournament as the number 1 seed, the Panthers lost a shocking game in the second round to the Molloy Lions 87- 73.  Despite the loss, AU still received the number 2 seed in the Northeast Region of the NCAA Division II tournament.  The Panthers seemed to be over their loss to Molloy, until they were shocked again, this time by St. Anselm in the Northeast Regional finals 76-72, thus destroying Adelphi's pre-season goal of getting to the Elite Eight.  It was a bitter end to what other schools in the region may have considered, a fantastic season. To quote Charles Dickens,   "It was the best of times, and the worst of times."

The best of times for the Panthers, to quote Charles Dickens came a few days before they were set to battle Queens College in the first round of the NYCAC tournament.  Junior Ryan McCormack was NYCAC player of the year, Coach Jim Ferry was named Coach of the Year, senior Yaacov Williams was All-NYCAC First Team and newcomer Kendall Craig was All-NYCAC Second Team.  

The team rode their accolades into their first round on February 29, when they eliminated Queens 70-67, but not without a little bit of tension.  Adelphi had complete control of the game, leading by as many as 16, until they got sloppy from the free throw line (only 15 of 27 in the second half).  Queens was surprisingly in position to tie the game with 12.3 seconds left until Steve Sirkic missed a three-point bomb at the buzzer.  The Panthers hung on with the leadership of McCormack, who scored 18 points and added five assists.  Craig also chipped in with 16 points.

The second round draw for the Panthers were the fifth-seeded Molloy Lions, who upended the Panthers on January 29, 71-81, the last game the Panthers had lost this season.  Molloy had a "Player of the Year" of their own, point guard Omar Kasi, who was recently named Athlete of the Year  by the Nassau County Sports Commission.  AU was soon to discover why Kasi was given such an honor, despite the fact that he could only stand on one good leg.

For the first 10 minutes of the first half, the two teams traded baskets and leads.  Kasi's three-point shooting kept Molloy hanging around but McCormack and Craig would respond with big time baskets of their own, giving AU the lead 39-35 at half-time.  Adelphi began to take off in the second, opening with a 7-2 run capped off by an emphatic dunk by Richie Edwards.  

However, Kasi and the Lions would not go away and Ryan McCormack's aggressive defense on the opposing point guard put him in foul trouble and forced him to sit with about 11 minutes to go in the game.  Molloy's Malcom Watson then carried the load for the guest team and helped put Molloy on top, 54-56, with about 8 minutes left in the game.  Molloy had the momentum until Kasi literally dropped to the floor in agony.  He left the game and it looked as if Adelphi was going to survive, but Watson put the team on his back.  Kasi shockingly reentered the game just as McCormack returned with four fouls and on the next possession, both point guards chased after a loose ball leading to McCormack's fifth foul and his and Adelphi's exit from the NYCAC.  From that point on, Molloy never looked back, rolling to a 87-73 victory over the shocked Panthers.

The March 2 crowd at Woodruff Hall was surprisingly hostile, packed with fans from the local Molloy campus in Rockville Center. From the beginning, each time point guard Ryan McCormack would touch the ball, the crowd would erupt with boos while shouting "Omar's better."  Meanwhile both teams were shocked that Kasi, badly hobbled by bruising his thigh in practice earlier, was able to play at all, and what is more, to score 25 points with his deadly three-point shooting.  However, his emotion kept him standing on both legs just long enough to secure the victory.  The Panthers' post-season fate now hung in the balance of the NCAA selection committee.

Despite the early exit from the NYCAC, the Panthers received their expected position in the NCAA northeast regional, ranked number 2 with a first round-by.  They faced Merrimack in the semi-finals, who had beaten Saint Rose the day before - the team that ousted the Panthers from the tournament last year.  Despite Merrimack's momentum, Adelphi was able to roll over the Northeast 10 Conference champions 90-64 on March 10, at Southern Connecticut University in New Haven.  The Panthers were led by Yaacov Williams, who scored 21 points and added nine rebounds, Craig who had a double-double with 23 points (19 in the second half) and 10 rebounds and McCormack who barely missed a triple-double, pitching in with 10 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds.  In the first half, the Panthers were smoking, going on an 18-10 run that put them up by 10.  The AU lead was then 20 with about 15 minutes left in the second half.  The Panthers never looked back; instead they looked to the St. Anselm challenge, which awaited them the regional finals.

Maybe it is just some predestined force that has kept Adelphi from getting past the regional finals for the last two seasons.  Last year, they had a lead in the final minutes against Saint Rose until an unexpected comeback crushed the Panthers' dreams.  This season, a 17-point first-half lead vanished into thin air as the Panthers stood stunned once again when they fell 76-72 on March 11.  Like the Molloy game, looks of shock and disbelief were on the Panthers' faces, however, they all knew that this time around the exit from the post-season was final.

The Panthers led by 10 with seven minutes left in the second half and looked primed to win.  However, St. Anselm went on a 16-5 run and then took their first lead of the game, 66-65, when Michael Dunn (21 points) connected with a putback with 2:42 left to play.  Adelphi's Eddie Williams responded with a lay-up only 20 seconds later but then St. Anselm's Todd Manuel sunk both free throws which added to his game his 23 points.  Yaacov Williams refused to let the Panthers fall flat again and connected with a three pointer with 1:38 to go, giving AU the 70-68 advantage.  However, Manuel, the Northeast Regional MVP, connected with his own trey, giving St. Anselm the lead for good, 71-70.

Manuel continued the heroics, hitting two more free throws with 35 seconds left.  Williams missed a three-pointer for the Panthers but McCormack was able to connect with two free throws to cut the lead to 1 with 22.1 seconds left.  On the ensuing possession, St. Anselm only hit one free throw but AU's Wayne Nelson missed a three with 6 seconds remaining, securing the victory for St. 

Anselm and ending the Panthers' magical roller-coaster season falling short, once again, of the Elite Eight and their pre-season expectations.  It will only be  just another year to see if the Panthers can finally get past this speed bump that has restrained them for the past 2 seasons.