Purchase, NY (Jan. 24, 2019) – The Purchase College men's basketball team cruised to a 78-43 victory over the visiting Knights of Mount Saint Mary College Thursday night.

With the win, the Panthers move to 10-9 overall and 9-6 in Skyline Conference play. In defeat, The Mount drops to 11-9 overall and 8-7 in the league.

A back-and-forth opening three minutes left both sides scoreless. At 16:38, Purchase junior guard Elijah Lott (East Greenbush, NY) opened up the scoring for the game with a layup. The Panthers ignited following the play, connecting on their next two possessions to stretch the lead to 7-0.

MSMC finally got on the board at 13:28. Connor Bacci fed Jameson Morton a pass in the paint for the two-point bucket.

Maxx Miller (JR/White Plains, NY), Marcus Richardson (SO/Elmont, NY) and Jorge Perdomo (SO/Bronx, NY) combined for six points over the next three Purchase possessions.  PC reached its biggest lead of the half (23-8) on a Miller free throw, before the Mount erupted with an 11-5 run to close the final five minutes of the half.

At the break, the Purchase led 28-19.

The Panthers returned from the locker room for an explosive second half at saw some of the best Purchase offense of the season. The Panthers shot an impressive 54.2 percent (13-of-24) in the final 20 minutes, including 88 percent (22-of-25) from the charity stripe, en route to securing the 78 43 Skyline victory.

Lott picked up his sixth double-double of the season after leading the charge with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Willie Britton (SR/Queens, NY) drove in another 15 points for Purchase to go along with seven boards, two blocks and a game-high three assists. Miller and Michael Soffer (SR/Agoura Hills, CA) also reached double-digit scoring with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

The Mount was led by Bacci and Kendall Francis, who tied for team-best with nine points apiece.

The Panthers return to their home court this Saturday to host the US Merchant Marine Academy at 2 p.m.