PHILADELPHIA – Adelphi ended the game with a 13-4 run over the final five minutes to defeat the Thomas Jefferson University men's basketball team (3-2), 70-65, in a battle between two top-ten teams in the East Region on Tuesday evening.
 
GAMEPLAY
The Rams started well, jumping out to a 13-4 lead. Darius Kinnel and Ahmed Barba-Bey each scored five points and Erik Timko added a three-pointer. Jefferson kept the Panthers at arm's length for the next eight minutes, holding at least a four-point advantage during that time. Adelphi closed the gap to three (26-23) at the 4:54 mark but the Rams came back with seven straight points to make it 33-23. However, the Panthers responded with an 8-0 surge to end the period and trail by just two (33-31) at halftime.
 
Jefferson netted 10 of the first 14 points of the second half to increase the margin to eight (43-35) but Adelphi answered with 13 of the next 18 to even the score at 48. With the teams tied at 50, the Rams had an 8-2 stretch to take a six-point lead. All eight points were scored by Deondre Bourne. The Panthers closed to within one (58-57) but a triple by Bourne made it a four-point edge (61-57) with 4:51 to play.
 
Adelphi then started its closing run with a three-pointer. Timko hit a jumper but the Panthers followed with another three to tie it at 63. Adelphi came up with a steal followed by a layup to go ahead. Two foul shots by Timko brought it to a 65-65 deadlock (1:50). Each team came up empty on a possession before the Panthers went ahead for good (68-65) on an and-one layup with 51 seconds remaining. Jefferson could not come up with a basket on its next possession and Adelphi added a pair of free throws to put the game away.
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Ahmed Barba-Bey: 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
- Deondre Bourne: 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal
- Darius Kinnel: 11 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds
- Erik Timko: 11 points, 1 rebound, 1 block, 1 steal
- Antonin Kemkeng: 6 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists
 
JEFFERSON AS A TEAM
FG: 24-of-51 (47.1%)
3PT: 9-of-22 (40.9%)
FT: 8-of-11 (72.7%)
 
UP NEXT
The Rams begin conference play versus Wilmington (Del.) on Wednesday, December 1 at 8 p.m.