Sophomore Ivan Almeida netted a game-high 16 points to go with six rebounds and four assists to help lead Stonehill past Adelphi today.

Stonehill Edges Adelphi in OT, 60-59

Stallworth drains two free-throws with nine-seconds left in overtime to lift Skyhawks to second one-point comeback win of the week

Boxscore 

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (January 23, 2010) - Senior guard Randall Stallworth (Toms River, N.J./Monsignor Donovan) drained two free-throws with nine-seconds left in overtime to lift Stonehill College, among teams receiving votes in this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II poll, to a 60-59 victory over Adelphi University in a key Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball matchup at the Center for Recreation & Sport this afternoon.

Stallworth, who made one of two free-throws with eight seconds left in regulation to put Stonehill up three only to see it evened by a three-pointer by Adelphi senior Casey Cosgrove (Andover, Mass./Andover) with two seconds left to force overtime, drained the two free-throws after he was fouled by Cosgrove. The Panthers were unable to get a shot off at the other end as Stonehill came away with its sixth-straight win - second one-point comeback win of the week.

Sophomore Ivan Almeida (Praia, Cape Verde) led Stonehill with a game-high 16 points (13 after halftime), shooting 6-for-12 from the field while converting 3-of-4 free-throws, to go with six rebounds and four assists. Junior Mike Kernan (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) posted a double-double with ten points, making 5-of-7 shots, and a game-high matching 12 rebounds, while senior A.J. Rudowitz (Monroe Township, N.J./Monroe Township) made 11-of-16 free-throws en route to 13 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots. Stallworth finished with nine points, three boards, four assists and two steals.

Senior Randall Stallworth drained two free-throws to lift Stonehill past Adelphi in overtime.

Junior David Akinyooye (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont Memorial) led Adelphi with ten points, six rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals, while senior Steffon Farley (Lanham, Md./Parkdale) posted ten points on a perfect shooting effort of 3-for-3 from the field while converting all four free-throw attempts. Cosgrove finished with nine points, five rebounds, seven assists and three steals, while sophomore Rob Johnson (New Rochelle, N.Y./Tuckahoe) matched the game-high with 12 rebounds.

Stonehill, which erased a seven-point (26-19) halftime deficit to improve to 8-1 this season when trailing at the break, bounced back from 22.7-percent (5-for-22) shooting in the first 20 minutes by making 46.2% (12-26) in the second to finish shooting 34.6% (18-52) for the afternoon. Adelphi finished shooting 39-percent (23-for-59) from the field after a 44.4% (12-27) shooting effort in the first half by making just 34.4% (11-32) after halftime. The Panthers became just the second team to outrebound Stonehill this season, finishing with a 41-36 advantage, but the Skyhawks out-scored their hosts 20-11 at the free-throw line, posted an 11-6 edge on second chance points and registered a 13-10 break in points off turnovers. 

Junior Mike Kernan notched a double-double with ten points and 12 rebounds.

After Cosgrove forced overtime, Stonehill broke on top again as Almeida opened the extra period with a dunk. Adelphi pulled even again with a Cosgrove jumper on its next possession and then took the lead (59-57) with two Farley free-throws 31-seconds later. However, the Skyhawks would shut the Panthers out over the final 3:22 of overtime to rally for the win behind a free-throw by freshman Brian Hamor (Guilderland, N.Y./Bishop Gibbons) with 2:32 remaining before Stallworth's two winning free-throws in the closing seconds. The teams shot a combined 2-for-9 (22.2%) in the extra period, with Adelphi missing its last three shots with a turnover after Farley's free-throws.

Stonehill trailed the entire first half, with two Rudowitz free-throws with two seconds left in the opening stanza slicing into Adelphi's game-high nine-point cushion (26-17) after an Akinyooye jumper with 1:42 to go. The Skyhawks deficit was still seven (44-37) with 7:47 left in regulation when they mounted their comeback.

Stonehill drew even (44-44) with a three-point play by Almeida before Rudowitz capped the 8-0 run by hitting one of two at the line that put the Skyhawks up for the first time with 4:44 to play. Adelphi regained a pair of three-point cushions, the latter of which (52-49) came after a Cosgrove layup with 2:45 remaining.

Two Rudowitz free-throws and a Kernan layup put Stonehill back in front (53-52) with 1:21 left. Rudowitz and Stallworth both split free-throw attempts in the final minute to put the Skyhawks up a game-high three points leading up to Cosgrove's three to force overtime. Both teams struggled shooting down the stretch, with the Panthers missing five-straight shots in the final 2:45 before the Cosgrove three.

Stonehill (15-3, 12-1 NE-10) is back in action on Tuesday when it hosts Le Moyne College for a key NE-10 battle in Merkert Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m. Adelphi (14-6, 7-6 NE-10) heads to Franklin Pierce University on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.