GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – Senior Omar El Sheikh (Giza, Egypt) registered a double-double in leading the Assumption University men's basketball to an 80-69 triumph over Adelphi in the opening round of the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament on Friday evening.

The teams exchanged the lead several times until Assumption put together a 7-2 run which kept them in control for the remainder of the contest. Junior Isiah Gaiter (Meriden, Conn.) started the key stretch by hitting a jumper with 8:30 left in the opening half before graduate student Matthew Kelly (North Potomac, Md.) stole the ball and found junior Kani Glover (Brockton, Mass.) for a trifecta. Sophomore Cooper Creek (Merredin, Australia) also nailed a 3-pointer in the final minutes to extend the margin to double digits, and the Greyhounds found themselves up by 11 at 43-32 heading into the break.

Even though the second half was evenly played, the Panthers could never find any rhythm to make any kind of a comeback. Gaiter hit a 3-pointer on the opening play of the half to keep the momentum with the visitors, and Adelphi never came closer than nine the rest of the way. Assumption, meanwhile, ballooned the margin to as many as 19 with El Sheikh at the line to gain more than enough insurance to win and advance to the quarterfinal round of the conference's annual postseason tournament.

El Sheikh recorded a double-double by scoring 17 points and grabbing 12 rebounds to lead the way for Assumption. He also tallied four assists and two blocks. Gaiter netted a team-leading 21 points, while Njavan Stewart and Kelly combined for 30 points.

Ronnie Silva and Isaiah Salter each nailed four 3-point field goals to finish with 20 and 17, respectively, and they also combined to dish out nine assists for Adelphi (17-10). Joshua Koulamallah also reached twin figures in scoring with 14 points in the losing effort.

Assumption (12-12) will next face the winner of another first round matchup between American International and Franklin Pierce, who will square off against each other on Saturday afternoon.