Box Score 

Purchase, NY (Dec. 8, 2014) – The Panthers lost a tight contest to the Yeshiva Maccabees 78-76 Monday night at home.
 
A back-and-forth game from the outset came down to the final seconds, but the Panthers failed to convert on multiple opportunities, including a game-winning 3-pointer in the closing seconds as YU held on for the two-point victory to improve to 4-1 in the Skyline Conference standings. Purchase, which came into the game at 1-0 following Saturday's league-opening win over Old Westbury, falls to 1-1 in the Skyline.
 
The two teams will meet again Sunday at Yeshiva as the first half of the season draws to a close.
 
Almost the entire game was see-sawish, with each team exchanging buckets. The game was tied at 14 five minutes into the first half.
 
Yeshiva made a three, but Panther swingman Creig Graves (JR/Harlem, NY) came right back with two of his own and gave Purchase its first lead at 19-16.
 
Yeshiva looked strong, swinging the ball around the perimeter crisply, making four three pointers in five possessions and they ended the first half with a buzzer beating lob, going up 43-34.
 
Graves hit his fourth 3 to put the Panthers on the board for the second half.
 
Purchase was again able to get aggressive in the post, scoring on two straight possessions early on. But Yeshiva stayed right on their case, making a 3 and a midrange jumper to go up by eight with 18:07 to play.
 
The Maccabees compiled four fouls in the first six and a half minutes of the period. 
 
Later on, Graves hit yet another long ball to bring the deficit down to one and point guard Jose Reyes (JR/Bronx, NY) hit one of his own to put the Panthers up 63-61 midway through the second.
 
 At this point, Purchase was on a 9-0 run. After a Yeshiva timeout, the home squad was able to get a transition bucket and another Reyes 3, but the Maccabees came back with a Joseph Ammar 3 and a layup, forcing a Panther TO with 6:57 left to play.
 
Big man Taylor Foster (JR/Greenburgh, NY) was able to break down the defense and had a nice dish to guard/forward Nicholas Jackson (JR/Brooklyn, NY) for an open dunk.
 
Right after, Graves hit another 3, Shelby Rosenberg from Yeshiva set a good screen to set up a Benjy Ritholtz 3, cutting the Purchase lead to 75-74 with 3:29 to play.

Ammar hit yet another triple to put the Maccabees up by two, but Purchase was sent to the line after Michael Berg fouled out with 2:11 left in the game.
 
Jackson made one of two and Yeshiva took a TO with 54 seconds left, up 77-76.
 
Purchase made on its final two attempts, sealing the YU win.  
 
The leading scorers for the Maccabees were Berg, Ritholtz and Ammar. Berg had a team-high 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Ritholtz finished with 18 points on 6-of-9 from behind the arc, five rebounds and five assists. Ammar totaled 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from deep, two rebounds and two steals.
 
The top guns for the Panthers were center Kendall Felix (SR/Brooklyn, NY), Graves, Foster and Michael Pelham (SO/Spring Valley, NY). Felix netted 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting, 5 of 5 in the first half, and six rebounds.
 
Graves collected a game-high 25 points on 6-of-8 shooting from 3, two rebounds and one assist. Foster had a solid all-around game with nine points, a game-high 10 assists and five rebounds. Pelham came on strong in the second half, tallying 12 points, two rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block.