Box Score
Purchase, NY (Jan. 4, 2014) – There's always a concern for a coaching staff following a long layoff.
Add in the element of a strong team and you've got yourself a matchup.
That was the story Saturday afternoon at Purchase College as the nationally-ranked Panthers faced a formidable opponent in SUNY College at Old Westbury. The rival Panthers gave No. 21 Purchase a contest, taking the lead in the first half on a couple of occasions, and later in the second half, too, providing a see-saw tilt until the final five minutes when the hosts opened the lead en route to an 86-78 victory.
Purchase is now 8-0 overall and 3-0 in the Skyline Conference, dropping Old Westbury to 6-4 and 2-1 in league play.
Saturday's matchup was the Panthers' first since Dec. 7, and like any team with that long a layoff, Purchase showed some signs of rust in the early going.
Old Westbury tied the score once in the first half and gained the lead on three different occasions, but the Panthers regained the lead each time and overcame a lead change midway through the second half, not to mention Old Westbury tying the score on five different occasions over the final 20 minutes.
Purchase answered every call, thanks largely to its bench play. The Panthers outscored Old Westbury 38-11 off the pine. The hosts also recorded 19 second-chance points, while limiting the visitors to 12.
But the biggest stat of the day might have come in the paint, where Purchase scored 42 and held Old Westbury to 28, riding the large shoulders of 7-foot-2 center Joel Neri (JR/Port Chester, NY). Neri dominated the opening minutes of the game offensively and helped Purchase jump in front 9-5 through the first three minutes.
Old Westbury answered with a run that bridged the gap to one on a 3-pointer by Omari Trebuse that cut the deficit to 12-11. Shortly later, Ray Parker gave the visitors a 24-21 lead on another long distance shot.
The back-and-forth affair continued until the closing minutes of the first half, when Purchase pushed the lead to nine points, highlighted by a steal and a layup by Justin Person (JR/Greenburgh, NY) in the last minute before the break.
Purchase went into intermission up 47-39.
Purchase's Andre Nixon (SR/Harlem, NY) led all scorers in the first half, notching 17 points. Franklyn Mickens (FR/Glen Cove, NY) also starred, providing a huge lift off the bench. He and Person contributed to the late first-half run. Mickens went 5 of 9, including 2 of 5 from 3 in the first half, closing the period with 12 points.
For the game, Mickens totaled a game-high 25 points, while Neri finished with 20 and Nixon added 20 of his own. In addition to Mickens, former Panther Jake Stevens III (SR/Brooklyn, NY) returned to the lineup following a year hiatus and looked sharp. He scored nine points, grabbed four rebounds and dropped six assists as the backup point guard, doing so off the bench in 26 minutes of action.
Nixon finished with a double-double, recording 20 points and 10 rebounds. He shared the team rebound lead with Person and David Haughton (SR/Greenburgh, NY). Person also contributed seven assists.
Purchase overcame multiple lead changes in the second half, with Mickens picking up where he left off in the first period. The game was tied at 65-65 and later 68-all before the Panthers pushed the lead to eight on free throws by Neri with two minutes to play. Old Westbury would get as close as two slightly under five minutes (77-75) before the Panther bench and Neri closed out the victory.
In defeat, Old Westbury was paced by Floyd Leroy, who scored 22 points. Two other Old Westbury players finished in double figures.
Purchase won the rebounding margin (46-33) and forced 18 turnovers, while limiting itself to nine on the way to another win.
The Panthers will be back in action on Thursday Jan. 9 at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh.
