By CONNOR HICKS
Contributing Writer
The Golden Knights proved Thursday night that a team shouldn’t be measured solely on what their record looks like, but how they rise to the occasion when an opportunity presents itself.
The opportunity: to show fans and critics alike that despite the fact that the season is lost, they will fight. By no means have the Golden Knights had what they would call a successful season; their record going into Thursday night’s game against league leading Adelphi was 4-17.
While many expected the Golden Knights to battle as they’ve done all year, few anticipated them to come out of Nolan Gymnasium with a 65-61 win over Adelphi.
The Golden Knights came out of the gates swinging, allowing just three field goals in the first 10 minutes of play. On the offensive end, senior forward Brian Hanuschak hit three consecutive shots to help the Golden Knights jump out to an early lead, the third of which marked his 1,000thpoint in a Saint Rose uniform.
As expected, the 13-4 Panthers scraped their way back in the opening half to tie the game at 26, but all momentum was soon diminished when junior guard Andre Pope hit a buzzer beating three following a Sheldon Griffin steal.
Strong contributions from sophomore forward Dominykas Milka, who scored 10 points off the bench in the second half, and Kareem Thomas, who netted 8 points in the half including two three’s, helped the Golden Knights push their lead to 11 by the 10:06 mark.
However, as once again anticipated, Adelphi fought their way back as they went on a 15-7 run to cut the lead to three with just under four minutes left. Hanuschak once again rose to the occasion with a tip-in and a lay-up to bring an end to any momentum Adelphi had.
Leading by four, the Golden Knights played lock-down defense, dominated the glass, and would go on to hit four consecutive clutch free-throws to secure the 65-61 win.
Hanuschak, who lead the team with 14 points and 8 rebounds, was proud that his guys came out and played a full, relentless forty minutes.
“We were able to close the game out and play well down the stretch, which is something we’ve failed to do in a lot of our other games,” said Hanuschak. “Everybody stepped up and did their job and I’m just glad we could come out with a win.”
When asked how it felt to join fellow teammate Rob Gutierrez as the 26th player in school history to score 1,000 points, Hanuschak, the league leader in field goal percentage answered, “It feels great to reach1,000. There’s a lot of good guys on that list and it’s just great to contribute as much as I can.”
Strong efforts from Dominykas Milka (12 points, 5 rebounds), Kareem Thomas (11 points, 3-4 from long range), and Sheldon Griffin (10 points,7 rebounds, 3 steals) helped the Golden Knights get their second win in the last three games.
The Golden Knights will take on Assumption tonight at 7:30 at the Nolan Gymnasium.
