Galloway, NJ (Nov. 17, 2017) – The Purchase College men's basketball team went toe-to-toe with Morrisville State Friday night in the opening round of the Stockton Tip-Off Tournament.

The Panthers trailed by only one point at the break, but the Mustangs used an 11-point spurt out of the half en route to a 75-61 win.

Morrisville advances to the championship round to face host Stockton College at 3 p.m. today. Stockton defeated Centenary 78-65 earlier in the evening. Purchase will also face Centenary today. That game is set for a 1 p.m. tip-off.

Five posted double figures for the Mustangs in the opener, including newcomer Brison Hall, who led the way with 16 on the night in 21 minutes of action, narrowly missing the double-double, as he grabbed nine rebounds. Tyrin Miller added 15, while Trent Ward collected 13.

After playing to a 32-31 halftime bout in favor of the Mustangs, Morrisville State used an 11-2 run to open the second half and jump out to a 10-point lead six minutes into the period, but the Panthers responded with their own spurt over the next three minutes, cutting the lead back to one with 11:37 to play.

Hanging within striking distance, Purchase was able to close the gap to four with 6:42 remaining on the clock, but a jumper by Hall in the paint a minute later sparked a 9-0 Mustang run, extending the lead to 13 with 3:14 to go.

Purchase pulled within nine with under a minute to play, but that's as close as they would get, as Morrisville State sealed the win, hitting 5 of 6 from the free-throw line, including two from Hall with 15 ticks remaining.

Three players finished in double-figure points for Purchase, including team leader Brian Berrios (SR/New York, NY). The guard finished with 18 points. Deshawn Cann (JR/Queens, NY) and Michael Soffer (JR/Agoura Hills, CA) added 11 apiece.

-Morrisville State Sports Information Contributed to this report