Purchase, NY
(Feb. 21, 2019) – Junior guard
Maxx Miller posted a season-best 30 points and 15 rebounds to lead No. 4 Purchase College to an 83-74 victory over No. 5 Sarah Lawrence College in the opening round of the 2019 Skyline Conference Men's Basketball Championship Tournament Thursday evening. With the win, the Panthers advance to the league semifinal game at Farmingdale State tomorrow night.
Miller (White Plains, NY) earned his first double-double of the season for his efforts. The 6-5 guard shot 50% (10-of-20) off the bench, to go along with an impressive 9-of-12 from the charity stripe.
Senior guard
Willie Britton (Queens, NY) added 15 points and three steals, while senior captain
Michael Soffer (Agoura Hills, CA) and junior guard
Elijah Lott (East Greenbush, NY) tacked on 13 points apiece. Lott went on to finish with a game-high seven assists and four blocks.
Sarah Lawrence opened the game with back-to-back baskets, including a dunk from junior forward BJ Sanders. Purchase answered with a trio layups from Miller and a drive from Soffer to take an 8-4 lead.
The opening half saw six lead changes and three ties. Purchase held a six-point advantage over the Gryphons with just over two minutes remaining. The Panthers closed with an 8-4 run to take a 33-23 halftime lead.
Britton opened the second half with a 3-pointer and Lott stretched Pc's lead to 15 (38-23) with a fastbreak layup at 19:24.
With 15 minutes remaining in regulation, Sarah Lawrence attempted a comeback with eight unanswered points. The five-point deficit was short-lived, however, as Purchase fired in an 8-0 run to stretch the advantage to 13 points (50-37).
The Gryphons outshot Purchase 37-33 in the final 10 minutes. Despite their effort, the visitors came up short as the final buzzer sounded.
Sarah Lawrence's Omar Jamaleddine led all scorers with 35 points and a team-best 14 boards. His double-double performance was shared with teammate Enile Anyia, who recorded the 11 points and 10 rebounds. Sanders finished with 16 points and five rebounds.
