Brooklyn, NY (Jan. 30, 2016) – Purchase College big man Joel Neri dominated his way into the record books Saturday at St. Joseph's College-Brooklyn as the Panthers and host Bears played for a cause.

On SJC-BKLYN's Alumni Day, Neri (SR/Port Chester, NY) posted 25 points and 21 rebounds, eclipsing the 1000th-point mark of his collegiate career en route to lifting the Panthers over the Bears, 77-64. It was "Play 4Kay" day at St. Joe's. The two programs united at The Hill Center in honor of legendary coach Kay Yow, who fought a courageous and very public battle against breast cancer to build a platform dedicated to improving and extending the lives of cancer patients. 

In her 34-year tenure at North Carolina State University, the late Yow became the first coach to win two Olympic gold medals, guided her teams to 20 NCAA Tournaments and was inducted into 11 Halls of Fame.   

SJC-BKLYN's Michael Megafu posted his eleventh double-double of the season, but the hosts were unable to rebound from a sluggish second half against Purchase in a critical Skyline Conference matchup. 

In the process, Purchase, which had lost to Sage the last time out, rebounded and improved to 11-9 overall, including 9-6 in the Skyline, dropping St. Joseph's to 10-9 and 7-8, respectively.
Purchase and Neri were on-point. The Bears never led.

Christian Giles hit a triple with 9:22 remaining to make it 53-46 as the surging Bears attempted a comeback, but St. Joseph's was outscored 11-4 in the next 5:39, as the Panthers clamped down to reclaim another double-digit advantage. Purchase maintained that lead the rest of the way.

St. Joseph's trailed 12-11 midway through the first half. However, the Panthers ran off 10 consecutive points in a two-minute span to claim their first double-digit advantage at the 7:31 mark in the first half.

The Bears entered the break behind, 33-22.

The second half for Purchase was highlighted by a 14-5 run to make it 51-35. The closest the hosts would get was 53-46 at 9:22. Purchase outscored St. Joseph's 24-18 the rest of the way to fend off a comeback.

Megafu finished with a season-high 24 points to go along with 15 boards and four blocks in the loss.

Neri's dominant effort was paired with a stellar performance from Nicholas Jackson (SR/Brooklyn, NY), who matched his teammate with 25 off the bench. The duo accounted for more than half of the Panthers' offense. Kaliph Grant (SO/Bronx, NY) chipped in seven and dished out a game-best six dimes.

Led by Neri, Purchase outrebounded the Bears 44-34 and held a significant 44-18 advantage scoring inside the paint. Neri is the fifth male player to eclipse the 1,000th mark since the program rejoined the NCAA in 2007.

The Panthers extend their lead to 7-5 in the all-time series, earning a season sweep following their dramatic 71-70 home victory on Jan. 4. 

-SJC-BKLYN Sports Information Contributed to this report