Purchase, NY (Dec. 7, 2017) – Tarik Allicock slammed the door on Purchase basketball's fourth straight win Thursday night.

The Panther center stuffed a buzzer-beating dunk to sink rival Yeshiva University 67-65 as time expired.

The emphatic jam came from an assist from reigning Skyline Conference Player of the Week Deshawn Cann (JR/Queens, NY). Purchase led by eight at the break, but fended off the Maccabees in a back-and-forth second half that was decided by Allicock (SR/Brooklyn, NY).

Purchase is now 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the Skyline Conference. The heartbreaking loss dropped Yeshiva to 4-5, including 3-3 in conference.

Allicock led a balanced attack of five players in double figures offensively. He finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Four players totaled double figures for Yeshiva, including game-high scoring leaders Bar Alluff and Simcha Halpert, who finished with 16 apiece.  

Despite falling behind in the opening minutes, the Panthers roared back to take a commanding eight-point lead at halftime.  

Yeshiva led 7-2, but Purchase closed to 10-9 before taking its first lead of the night on a Nikeem Deleon (SR/Bronx, NY) layup from Cann.  

Cann extended to 14-10 on a jumper at 10:43. The Maccabees kept pace, with Kevin Bokor coming off the bench and connecting on a layup at 9:39 to close within one (16-15).

But Purchase went back up by three on a Deleon score (23-20) at 5:54. Justin Hod then hit a 3-pointer for Yeshiva to knot the game at 23-all.

Max Pearce (SR/Tuckahoe, NY) broke the tie with a jam and moments later Michael Soffer (JR/Agoura Hills, CA) splashed a 3-pointer to push the lead back to three (28-25).

From there, Purchase took control to finish off the first half strong. The lead stretched to five on a dunk by Cann from bench sparkplug Kaliph Grant (SR/Bronx, NY) and eight on another connection by the duo. Soffer capped the half on a jumper following an Alluf score for the visitors.

Alluf led all scorers with 12 first-half points. Purchase was paced by Pearce and Soffer, who each netted eight. The Panthers shot 59 percent in the opening stanza, while limiting the Macs to 41 percent.

Yeshiva cut the lead to three early in the second half. Purchase then rebounded with another run, extending the margin back to eight on a Pearce layup from Cann just under 14 minutes (46-38).

The visitors mounted a comeback just under 12 minutes. Hod hit a 3-pointer to cut it to 48-43. Simcha Halpert hit a game-tying 3 right after.  

Tal Gweta handed the Macs their first lead at 6:25 on a layup. The score capped a 17-8 run for Yeshiva over a six-minute stretch.

The Panthers recovered for a run of their own. They went back up by six on two free throws from Soffer (63-57) with four minutes to play.

However, the 3 loomed large for Yeshiva. Gweta brought YU back within three, 63-60, and an Alluf jumper narrowed the Purchase lead to one.

Cann pushed the home advantage back to three, 65-62, with one minute to play. Halpert answered with a game-tying 3 with 55 seconds left.

A Panther turnover and an Yeshiva missed jumper then set the stage for Allicock and Purchase to seal it on the final possession.

The score was tied twice in the second half. Purchase utilized 14 points in the paint and six from the bench in closing out Yeshiva. In addition to Allicock and his 12 points, Pearce and Soffer both netted 12. Cann and Deleon added 11 and 10, respectively. Mike Felix (JR/Goshen, NY) came off the bench and provided two timely hoops for four points in nine minutes of play.

The Panthers will look to make it five-in-a-row Saturday in their final game of the New Year, when they host Farmingdale State at noon.

NOTES: For the second time in two weeks, the office of Community Engagement and the Multicultural Center sponsored "Panther Night Out," providing fans with free snacks and rally flags. The popular event boosted attendance ... Purchase head coach Kyle Martin sported an (ugly) holiday sweater for the game. Check it out on our instagram here.