Middletown, CT (Jan. 21, 2019) – Despite four players scoring in double-digits, Purchase College was unable to push past No. 25 Wesleyan University Monday evening, falling 91-80 in non-conference action.

The host Cardinals never trailed, and held off a late second half rally by the Panthers, as they improved to 14-4 overall with their six-straight win. With the loss, Purchase fell to 8-9 on the year.

The Panthers were led by junior guard Elijah Lott (East Greenbush, NY), who dropped 21 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and five steals. Senior guard Willie Britton (Queens, NY) scored 18 points, while junior guard Maxx Miller (White Plains, NY) finished with 14 off the bench, and sophomore guard Jorge Perdomo (Bronx, NY) registered 13.

Wesleyan won the opening tip and lit up the board first with a dunk by Jordan James.

Following a basket by Britton that cut the deficit to six (29-23) the Cardinals went on a 7-0 run capped off by an Antone Walker layup to put the home team ahead by 13 at the 3:47 mark.

A layup by senior center Mike Felix (Goshen, NY) with 11 seconds remaining got the Panthers within 12 as they trailed 43-31 at the break. Shortly after, a pair of free throws by James capped off a 13-0 run as Wesleyan took its largest lead of the game, up 29 with 13:01 remaining.

Wesleyan came out strong in the second half and scored six unanswered points to grab a commanding 18-point lead.

The Panthers slowly cut away at the deficit and with 57 seconds left on the clock, Britton hit two free throws to get within 10.

Purchase caused back-to-back turnovers and a basket by Miller, followed by another free throw by Britton at the 35-second mark, made it a seven-point game as they trailed 87-80, capping off a 43-21 run by the visitors.

Wesleyan remained composed, however, as Walker and Hutcherson sealed the win at the line as they finished 4-of-4 in the closing seconds.

For Wesleyan, Walker was 7-of-13 from the floor, 3-of-6 from downtown, and a perfect 9-of-9 from the charity stripe to net a game-high 26 points. Austin Hutcherson tallied 22 points and 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double. He also led the team with three assists. Both Walker and Hutcherson led the Cardinals with three steals apiece, while Jordan Bonner joined them in double-figures with 13 points.

-Wesleyan Sports Information contributed to this release