Brooklyn, NY (Jan. 29, 2019) – Facing St Joseph's College (Brooklyn) for the second time this season, the Purchase College men's basketball team used a late second-half surge to fuel a 76-70 Skyline Conference victory Tuesday night.

It took the Panthers a few minutes to find their groove, as they were down 12-5 early in the first half.

At 13:27, Mike Felix (SR/Goshen, NY) sparked a 6-0 Purchase run with a play in the paint for two points. The Panthers chipped away to come within one basket of taking the lead, prompting a timeout by the opposing bench.

After a bit of back-and-forth scoring, Maxx Miller (JR/White Plains, NY) sank 2 free-throws which tied the game at 18. After a Purchase timeout, the momentum continued as they went on a 7-0 run which included two successful layups by Jorge Perdomo (SO/Bronx, NY) and a 3-pointer by Willie Britton (SR/Queens, NY).

St. Joe's would remain strong as they soon decreased the deficit to one point (30-29). Purchase did not back down, putting up another five points in the final minute of the half to take a 35-30 halftime lead.

The back-and-forth scoring continued after the break, and even saw St. Joe's take the lead (46-44) after a made layup by Dimitri Sirakis. SJC began to heat up midway through the second half and would attain a lead as large as nine points (54-45), however Purchase remained resilient and would begin the comeback late in the half.

The Panthers slowly crept up to their opponent, consistently responding to an opponent bucket with a score of their own, and with 3:30 left in the half, Michael Soffer (SR/Agoura Hills, CA) sank a 3-pointer to put Purchase ahead 65-64. From there, the Panthers played strong defense and were able to keep the lead, giving them the gritty win.

Britton lead the way for the panthers, posting a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Miller and Felix scored 14 points apiece, while grabbing six and four rebounds, respectively. Soffer contributed to the win as well, scoring 11 points, four rebounds and four assists.
 
For St Joe's, Sebastien Ethart also posted a double double with 15 points and 18 rebounds. Also contributing were Frank Reali and Kavan Meier who netted 16 and 14 points, respectively.

Purchase will be back in action this Saturday (Feb. 2) against SUNY Old Westbury.