Pair of wins for Adelphi

The Adelphi Academy Varsity Basketball team returned to actionon Monday, January 9 with a home game against the Solomon SchechterSchool. The Panthers were looking to snap a two-game losingstreak.

The game turned out to be a shootout, with both teams combiningto shoot 21 three-pointers. The Panthers, who were without injuredsenior co-captain Michael Melamed, came out strong and took anearly 16-9 lead on a Jack Tawil put back with 1:14 left in thefirst quarter.

Adelphi kept a comfortable lead throughout and held Schechter tojust seven points in the fourth quarter in a 78-58 win. The 78points is a season high for the Panthers, who are now 3-3 on theseason.

With Melamed out of the lineup, freshman Abraham Namer wasinserted into the starting lineup and he capitalized with 12 pointsincluding two 3-pointers. Sophomore Aaron Wint also chipped in fourpoints in his second start of the season. Tawil had a stellar gamedefensively with nine rebounds.

I’ve stressed defense from the start of the year and it’sfinally starting to sink in. Scoring 78 points is great but it wasour defense that was the difference, said Adelphi AthleticDirector James Pristouris.

The real highlight of the game came in the incredible play ofsenior co- captain Jabaree Benford, who finished with 56 pointsincluding 10 3-pointers. The 56 points were one shy of the schoolrecord set by Desmond Herod in 1998. Benford also added 18 reboundsand six blocks.

Jabaree played a great game. The funny thing is he scored allthose points without being selfish. He made the right plays andtook good shots. He manages to keep us in every game with his shotmaking abilities, said Pristouris.

The Panthers return to the court on Monday, January 23rd for ahome tilt against the Garden School.

On Thursday, January 12, the middle school team continued itsstrong play with a 37-34 hard-fought victory over the ChildsSchool. The game was a defensive battle, with both teams playing apressuring and attacking style. The Panthers took an early 3-1 leadon a Louis Marotto 3-pointer and never trailed again, managing topreserve the lead with good decision making and timemanagement.

We had a five point cushion with about three minutes left inthe game and instead of taking unnecessary shots, we killed theclock and made them work on defense, said assistant coach PeterLim.

Adelphi was plagued by foul trouble for much of the game asMarotto and power forward Isaiah Kablack played with four fouls forthe majority of the second half, and center Kaplan Cekiq fouled outwith three minutes to go in the game. The Panthers went to theirbench and they came through with some big defensive stops.

We have a bad tendency to play defense with our hands ratherthan our feet. It is something we will have to address at practicesand hopefully over the course of the season, we can make thenecessary adjustments. Pristouris said.

With the win, the Panthers improve to 4-4 on the season. Theyreturn to the court on Tuesday, January 17 with a home tilt againstthe Garden School.