New York, NY (Nov. 15, 2017) – Purchase men's basketball hit the ground running in their season opener Wednesday night on the road.

The Panthers downed non-conference rival, the City College of New York, 85-76.  

And their two city stars had a big say in the outcome.

A 3-pointer from Brian Berrios (SR/New York, NY) with 7:18 remaining in the first half handed Purchase a 25-24 advantage – a lead the Panthers held for the remainder of the contest, despite four lead changes in the opening 10 minutes.

Berrios finished with 17 points and five rebounds, while fellow All-Skyline returner Deshawn Cann (JR/Queens, NY) poured in 17 points of his own to go along with four boards, four assists and two steals. 

The Big Apple products spearheaded a comfortable season-opening victory.

Purchase shot an impressive 52.8 percent (28-for-53) from the field for the game. The Panthers also hauled in a rebounding advantage of 38-36 that aided 38 points in the paint.

CCNY was paced by Samuel Williams and his 24 points, five rebounds, and two steals in 38 minutes of action.  

In the second half, a Michael Soffer (JR/Agoura Hills, CA) 3 less than six minutes into the half helped create the largest lead of the game for Purchase (16 points; 59-43).

Immediately following the lead extension, the Beavers pulled together a 22-11 run, capped off by a jumper from Williams that cut the Purchase lead to 70-65, with 6:10 remaining.

The Panthers capitalized on late fouls by CCNY, connecting on five out of six free throws in the final minutes. The Beavers managed to cut the deficit back down to five at 77-72 with 1:08 remaining before Purchase closed out City strong, winning by nine.

Purchase will continue its early season, non-conference slate this weekend in the highly competitive Stockton Tournament. 

-CCNY Sports Information Contributed to this report