Newburgh, NY
(Dec. 11, 2018) – The Purchase College men's basketball team wrapped up the fall portion of their schedule with a 55-46 loss at Mount Saint Mary College on Tuesday night.
The host Knights (5-1, 3-1 Skyline) opened up the scoring with back-to-back plays in the paint by Connor Bacci and Kendall Francis, respectively.
The Panthers (4-5, 2-3 Skyline) answered with a three-pointer from junior guard
Elijah Lott (East Greenbush, NY). On the next play, sophomore guard
Jorge Perdomo (Bronx, NY) found the back of the net to give Purchase its first and only lead of the game, 5-4.
The Mount regained the lead on a Tristan Millett jumper and later pushed it 11 after drove Francis in a layup.
Purchase countered with a 7-0 run with senior center
Mezu Agwu (Ramapo, NY) knocking down five free throws in a two-minute stretch.
The first half finished with an Ethan Fox layup and two free throws from Paul Sienke to give the Knights a 26-18 lead at the half.
The Panthers came out to start the second half on an 11-4 run and cut the Knights lead to only one after
Jordan Knochen (SO/Montgomery, NY) and
Michael Soffer (SR/Agoura Hills, CA) combined to knock down three three-pointers.
Purchase would come within three points of the Mount's lead several times throughout the final four minutes of the game, but MSMC knocked down several late game free throws to secure a nine-point victory.
Francis led the way for the home team with 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting and finished with four rebounds. Paul Sienke finished the night with 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting, four rebounds and four steals. Ethan Fox added eight points, five rebounds and two blocks, while Jameson Morton had a career-high eight rebounds.
For Purchase, Soffer finished with a team-high 13 points including a trio three-pointers. Knochen chipped in with eight points and five boards. Lott and Perdomo each had a team-high seven rebounds and junior guard
Maxx Miller (White Plains, NY) had three assists.
The Mount outshot Purchase 42.9-percent to 30-percent from the field while the Panthers knocked down eight threes compared to just one for the Knights. Mount Saint Mary converted 21 Purchase turnovers into 24 points, outscored the Panthers 36-8 in the paint and scored 13 fast break points.
Purchase will resume action, following the winter break, at St. Joseph's College (L.I.) on Jan. 3.
