Box Score - Hartwick 11/16
Box Score - SJC-BKLYN 11/17 ** Championship of Regis Tip-Off Tournament 

Weston, MA (Nov. 16-17, 2012) – The towering tandem of Joel Neri and Craig Davis proved too much Friday and Saturday, lifting Purchase College men's basketball to two straight victories in consecutive days to win the Regis College Tip-Off Tournament.

Neri (SO/Port Chester, NY), a 7-foot-1 center, who grew taller in the offseason, looked like a completely different player from one year ago. The sophomore scored 20 points, grabbed five rebounds and went 10 of 12 from the field in 17 minutes Friday night, as the Panthers downed Hartwick College, 84-77, to advance to Saturday's championship game.

In the final, Purchase would outlast St. Joseph's College of Brooklyn in overtime, winning 83-74. Davis (SR/Queens, NY), Purchase's other big man, netted 13 points and pulled down 12 boards en route to being named tournament Most Valuable Player. The 6-foot-8 Davis, who played power forward with Neri in the pivot, helped the Panthers improve to 2-0 on the season, dropping the Bears to 1-1.

Davis was equally impressive in Friday night's semifinal, scoring 21 points in 29 minutes against Hartwick. Teammate Amar Reynolds (SR/Bronx, NY) chipped in 14 points off the bench to help Purchase upend a team that eliminated them from the NCAA DIII Tournament four seasons ago.    

Joining Davis on the All-Tournament Team was Neri, who added 13 points and five rebounds in the championship game.

Purchase took an early 7-3 lead in the championship game following a deep 3 from Andre Nixon (JR/Harlem, NY). Another Nixon long ball extended the lead to 12-3, before the Bears' Thomas Karasinski came off the bench and buried a 3-pointer of his own to cut the deficit in half.

St. Joseph's chipped away and took a 16-15 lead on a Megafu jumper with 9:14 to play in the opening half.

A David Louison layup made it a three-point game on the next possession, but this time it was Purchase who fought back, taking a 21-20 lead on a pair of Nixon free throws.

Neri's layup and free throw after being fouled with 5:01 to play gave Purchase a four-point lead before the Bears rallied back with a 12-5 spurt, capped off by an Emitt Hightower triple to give St. Joseph's the lead back at 32-29.

A Neri basket and another three from Nixon were the final points of the half, as the Panthers took a two point lead into the break, 34-24.

Nixon led all scorers at the half with 14 points, while Neri chipped in with 13 of his own. Megafu led the Bears at the break with nine points and seven rebounds.

Davis opened the second half with a jumper to take a four point lead, but the Bears used a 5-0 run to take a 37-36 lead only 1:42 into the second half.

The Panthers responded with a 9-2 run of its own to take a 45-39 lead on a John Pressley (SR/New York, NY) layup.

The teams went back-and-forth before a Megafu jumper gave St. Joseph's a 52-51 lead with just over 10 minutes to play in regulation.

The two sides traded leads until an Reynolds layup gave Purchase a 59-56 advantage at the 6:57 mark. A David Ortiz free throw and Louison jumper tied the game up at 59-all before Davis and Ian Duff traded buckets, giving the Panthers a late 62-61 lead. Hightower took the lead back for the Bears with a pair of free throws and Nixon answered with a pair of his own to take the lead back for Purchase.

David Louison scored on an offensive rebound to make it, 65-64, but Reynolds put home a Malik Atkins (SO/Bronx, NY) miss on the fast break to make it 66-65 Purchase.

Hightower answered with a 19-foot jumper on the ensuing possession before Davis hit two free throws to make it 68-67.

Louison could not put home another second chance opportunity for St. Joseph's and Pressley buried a running jumper on the break to give the Panthers a 70-67 lead with two minutes to play. Louison was fouled taking a shot, but went 1-for-2 at the line to leave the Bears trailing 70-68. Louison made up for it on the defensive end, forcing a steal and giving the Bears a chance to tie the game. Out of a timeout, Ian Duff found Michael Megafu for a layup under the basket, tying the game at 70-all. St. Joseph's forced an errant jumper by the Panthers and had a chance for the win in the final 30 seconds.

After winding the clock down to :07, Louison found himself at the top of the key with the ball in his hands. The junior drove left and put up a running jumper, but it was off the mark as play spilled into overtime.

The extra period was all Purchase, as it outscored the Bears at a 13-4 clip in the period, allowing only one made field goal and a pair of free throws.

Purchase won the battle of the boards, and also committed only 19 turnovers to the Bears' 26. The Panthers turned those missteps into 31 points off turnovers and outscored St. Joseph's 34-24 in the paint.
 
The Panthers were led by 19 points from Nixon, who knocked down five 3-pointers and added five rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Neri and Davis added 13 points apiece, while Justin Person (JR/Greenburgh, NY) and Pressley added 10 points apiece as well.

Off to a blazing start, Purchase returns to action on Tuesday night, when they travel to rival Manhattanville for an 8 p.m. matchup.

-With Chris Barroso, Regis SID