Purchase, NY (Nov. 30, 2017) – The Purchase College men's basketball team served up some hometown holiday cheer Thursday night at neighboring rival Manhattanville, winning the non-conference affair, 84-73.
The Panthers closed the game on a 22-7 run over the final 7:34 en route to upending the Valiants at Kennedy Gymnasium.
In the process, this round of "The Battle of Anderson Hill Road" went to the Panthers.
Four players scored in double figures and six players had at least eight points for Purchase (4-2), which retained bragging rights for the fourth time in the last five years.
The Panthers were led by Tarik Allicock (SR/Brooklyn, NY) with 16 points and Deshawn Cann (JR/Queens, NY), who had a solid all-around game with 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds, eight assists and three steals. Nikeem Deleon (SR/Bronx, NY) added 13 points, and Mike Felix (JR/Goshen, NY) came off the bench for his best performance of the early season, scoring eight points in 10 key minutes of action.
Manhattanville's JoJo Cobbs was strong for Manhattanville (3-2) in a losing effort, matching his career-high with 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field, including hitting all four shots from beyond the arc.
The opening 20 minutes featured plenty of back-and-forth action, with the lead changing hands six times.
After Purchase scored the first four points of the night, Manhattanville rattled off the next 10, led by four points each from Cobbs, to open up its largest lead of the game at 10-4.
The Panthers used a pair of runs to get back into the game, scoring nine straight points to grab a 17-14 lead and then scoring 10 in a row to take a 29-22 lead with 7:57 remaining.
Manhattanville outscored Purchase 16-8 over the next 5:49 to take a 38-37 lead after a Cobbs three-pointer with 2:08 left in the half, but the visitors scored the final five points to take a 42-38 lead into halftime.
The teams traded baskets for much of the first seven minutes of the second half before Manhattanville made its move, going on a 15-6 run to take a 66-62 lead with 7:53 on the clock.
However, the Valiants were foiled by the Panther defense down the stretch. Manhattanville missed 12 of its next 13 shots while Purchase went 7 of 7 from the field as part of a decisive 19-2 run.
Both teams were hot from the field for much of the game, hovering over 50 percent for most of the night before the Valiants trailed off late in the contest.
Purchase finished the night shooting 56.5 percent (35 of 62) from the field, while the Valiants ended up shooting at a 46.0 percent (29 of 63) clip. The Panthers also proved to be more opportunistic in cashing in on Valiant miscues, as the visitors converted 14 Valiant turnovers into 20 points.
-Manhattanville Sports Information Contributed to this report
