Oswego, NY (Nov. 17, 2018) – Junior guard Elijah Lott (East Greenbush, NY) poured in a game-high 31 points and 11 rebounds to pave the road to victory for Purchase College on day two of the Max Ziel Tournament Saturday afternoon. The Panthers defeated non-conference Elmira College, 90-83.

The victory marked the first of the 2018-19 season as the Panthers move to 1-2 overall. Elmira drops to 1-3 in defeat.

Purchase took control of the game in the second half. The Panthers slowly chipped away at Elmira's 49-41 halftime lead and with just a little over 10 minutes left in regulation, Purchase evened the score at 63-all on two free throws from senior guard Michael Soffer (Agoura Hills, CA).

Elmira answered with a putback layup from Justin Porrett but the Soaring Eagles would not hold the lead for long. On a fast break, Soffer connected on a pass from Lott to tie the game at 65 with under 10 minutes left in the half.

With 8:15 remaining on the clock, senior guard Rob Grullon (Wallkill, NY) netted a pair of free throws to give PC its first lead of the half, 68-67. Elmira would take the lead one more time before a Soffer 3-pointer at 13:03 gave Purchase a lead it would carry through the final buzzer.

Lott led all scorers with his double-double performance. The Panther newcomer netted 18 points and 8 rebounds in the first half. He connected on 6-of-14 shots from the field, including a trio of 3-pointers on four attempts in the opening 20 minutes en route to his game total of 31 points and 11 boards. Lott also recorded a team-best six assists.
 
Soffer finished with 25 points and six rebounds, while sophomore guard Jorge Perdomo (Bronx, NY) notched 13 points and eight boards. Junior guard Maxx Miller (White Plains, NY) pulled down an impressive five offensive rebounds (9 total) to go along with 10 points and two blocks.

Purchase is back in action this Tuesday (Nov. 20) for its Skyline Conference opener at USMMA.