Purchase, NY (Feb. 15, 2019) – The Purchase College men's basketball team took down the College of Mount Saint Vincent 79-71 on Senior Night, recording the final home win of the 2018-19 regular season along the way.
The Panthers (14-10, 12-7 SKY) remain tied for the No. 3 seed with SUNY Old Westbury in Skyline Conference standings. For the Mount (7-18, 6-14 SKY), Friday's loss dropped the Dolphins to the No. 9 spot.
Purchase trailed the visiting Dolphins 39-31 after a slow opening half for the home team.
CMSV stretched its lead to 10 with a 3-pointer by Raiquis Harris before Purchase rattled off six unanswered points to comer within four of the Dolphins (49-45). Senior guard Willie Britton (Queens, NY) ignited the run with a layup at 16:52. Sophomore forward Jorge Perdomo (Bronx, NY) followed with a free throw and 3-point bucket at 15:16.
With less than two minutes remaining in regulation, Purchase came from behind to turn a six-point deficit into a eight-point victory. Backed by the energized crowd and the fans on their feet, Britton and junior guard Elijah Lott (East Greenbush, NY) hit back-to-back layups for the Panthers. After being fouled on the play, Lott netted an and-one for the home team.
A Britton layup at 1:21 gave Purchase the lead (71-70) for the first time in the game. He added another two points on free throws along with teammate Maxx Miller (JR/White Plains, NY). The Mount's Jason Barrera netted a free throw of his, but Purchase answered with a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from Lott at the charity strip to secure the 79-71 victory.
Britton led all scorers with 25 points and three steals. Lott tallied his ninth double-double of the season with 20 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Perdomo chipped in with 14 points, while senior guard Michael Soffer (Agoura Hills, CA) finished with 10 points and five boards.
Harris led the visitors in scoring with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists. Vinny Tavella added another 13 points, and Makai Johnson and Barrera finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Purchase will conclude its regular season on Monday with a road game against league foe Yeshiva University. The matchup is a rescheduled game from Feb. 12.
