Box Score Purchase, NY
(Dec. 3, 2014) – Members of the 26-3 Skyline Conference champion and NCAA Tournament participant from last season returned to Purchase Wednesday night to celebrate the March Madness that took the campus community by storm last spring.
Tonight was Championship Ring Night at Purchase, as the stars of yesteryear, and this season's championship returners, took center stage on the hardwood to receive their "bling" in a pregame ceremony.
Unfortunately for the hometown faithful and the Panthers, York College edged Purchase 80-68 in a game that was tied at halftime.
Purchase opened the last 20 minutes in strong fashion, scoring the second half's first basket, but York countered in a see-saw battle that wasn't decided until the final 10 minutes, with the Cardinals pulling away for the double-digit win.
The visitors stretched the lead to six on a Jaron Williams dunk over the first three minutes. Purchase closed back to one on a
Michael Pelham (SO/Spring Valley, NY) free throw at 14:56 of the second half.
But York pushed the lead back up to five at 13:55 on a Terell Roper score. Shortly later, the lead increased to double figures and Purchase was never able to get closer, despite another valiant effort.
In the loss, Purchase dropped to 0-7, while York improved to 4-2 in the non-conference meeting.
Creig Graves (JR/Harlem, NY) and Pelham paced Purchase with 16 points apiece.
Kendall Felix (SR/Brooklyn, NY) added 14 points in the loss.
York was led Omar St. John, who finished with a game-high 18 points. The guard connected on four 3-pointers, including three in the second half. Williams and Ryan St. John added 13 points apiece.
The first half finished with a Panther comeback as Purchase tied it 31-31 in the closing minute behind a Graves 3-pointer.
The score was tied once in the opening 20 minutes and the lead changed hands twice on each side in the first period, paving the way for the halftime stalemate. The hosts were led by Graves and Pelham, who scored 11 and nine points, respectively. Key reserve
Kayvon Reid (SO/Tuckahoe, NY) added eight off the bench in the opening stanza.
For York, Omar St. John totaled nine points in the first half. He was followed by teammate and forward Cyril Reid, who contributed eight of his own.
The Cardinals stretched the lead to 14-8 early, but Purchase went on a run behind Graves, Pelham and Reid, chipping away at the deficit.
The second half featured more of the same, but York shot a scorching 66.7 percent from the field in the second to seal the win. The Cardinals also limited Purchase to 42.4 percent shooting from the field, which nearly matched its output from the first half (42.3 percent).
The Panthers have three games remaining before the winter break, including Old Westbury Saturday and Yeshiva twice – Monday at home and the following weekend away.
