Bronx, NY (Feb. 8, 2017) – The playoff push has begun for the Purchase College men's basketball team.

The Panthers earned their second straight conference victory Wednesday night, upending SUNY Maritime 95-68 on the road.

Maritime's Riesenberg Gym has always been one of the tougher places to play for league opponents. The hosts were strongly led by Patrick MacDonald, who tied his season-high with 27 points on a .611 shooting effort. MacDonald is now just eight points shy of 1,000 career points. Following MacDonald was John Liccese, who finished with 15 points, four rebounds and four assists. 

The Privateers were ice cold throughout the entirety of the first half, making only nine of their 26 attempts, while also not putting a three-point basket through on eight attempts.

The Panthers pounced on Maritime right off the bat, going on a 9-0 run to start, but two Liccese free throws at the 15:39 mark interrupted the run. MacDonald finally sunk the first Privateer two-pointer just over three minutes later, but the Panthers continued to hold a substantial lead, 15-4.

With 4:31 left in the first half, Purchase found themselves leading by 27 points, their largest lead of the first half. With five seconds left in the first frame, Brian Berrios (JR/New York, NY) put in a 3 to send the Privateers into the locker room trailing, 53-28.

The Privateers saw improved shooting in the second half, but Purchase's defense posted a terrific evening of hoops. Aside from MacDonald, Purchase shutdown Maritime, limiting his supporting cast.  

Liccese opened up the second half scoring for the Privateers, nailing his first 3 of the game within a minute of the start. Shortly after, the Panthers used a 9-0 run, powered by three consecutive long balls, extending the Purchase lead to the largest of the game at 34.

The Privateers then went on to score eight straight points behind three MacDonald field goals and a Liccese layup, but still were never able to fully catch up.

With the loss, Maritime falls to 8-13 overall and 3-9 in the Skyline. Purchase improves to 14-8 on the season and 8-5 in league play.

Purchase had four players finish in double figures offensively, including Berrios and his team-high 19 points. Givvion Jones (JR/Mount Vernon, NY) added 14 points, five rebounds and two blocks, while Deshawn Cann (SO/Queens, NY) netted 13 points, eight boards and two steals. Michael Soffer (SO/Agoura, CA) chipped in 10 points.

-SUNY Maritime Sports Information Contributed to this report