PURCHASE, NY - The Purchase College men's basketball team completed its regular season Saturday afternoon, falling to Mount Saint Mary College, 75-70, on Senior Day.

Before the contest began, the Panthers celebrated their senior quartet of Brian Hardy (New York, NY), Elijah Harris (Flushing, NY), Maxx Miller (White Plains, NY) and Elijah Lott (Albany, NY).

Head coach Kyle Martin spoke highly of his players with a prepared speech beforehand, as each player welcomed family and friends to the court for pictures. Following the ceremony, the Purchase College cheerleaders celebrated their seven seniors, before the afternoon truly kicked off. 

To start, the Panthers scored six of the first eight points to grab a quick lead, before the guests answered with a scoring streak of their own. Over the next two minutes, the Knights outscored Purchase, 9-2, to grab the lead at 11-8 with 17:20 to go.

From that point on, Mount Saint Mary College led the rest of the half, pushing its advantage to as many as 11 points in the frame. At the halftime break, the Panthers trailed 44-36.

In the second half, the two sides traded basked to start the stanza, before the hosts mounted a rally five minutes in. The Panthers proceeded to cut the deficit to just two points, 52-50, on a 3-pointer from Jorge Perdomo (JR/Bronx, NY) with 14:14 left in the game. 

However, just as quickly as the Panthers rallied, the Knights answered right back. Over the next four minutes, the guests outscored Purchase, 7-2, to push the lead to 59-52 with 10:40 to go. 

Over the final 10 minutes, the Knights held off a furious attempt by the Panthers, as they escaped with the much-needed win.

With the result, the Panthers finished off the season with records of 16-9 overall and 11-5 in the Skyline. Entering the game, Purchase was already locked into the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Skyline Conference Championships. 

As for the Knights of Mount Saint Mary (9-16, 7-9 SKY), the win clinched their spot in championships in the No. 7 seed. In fitting fashion, the two squads will once again meet in the quarterfinals of the championships next Tuesday at 7 p.m., right back here at Purchase.

On the day, the guests shot 56.5 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from 3-point range. Meanwhile, the Panthers shot just 45.3 percent overall and went 3-for-16 from long distance.

Lott led Purchase with 15 points, six rebounds and three steals in his final regular season game. Perdomo and Harris each tallied 12 points, while Miller added nine points. Hardy finished with six points in the effort.

For Mount Saint Mary, four players finished in double-digits with Jameson Morton (JR/Woodstock, NY) leading the way with a game-high 22 points. 

Up next for each team is the aforementioned Skyline Conference Championship battle scheduled for next Tuesday (Feb. 25th). That contest will begin at 7 p.m. and the winner will meet either Sarah Lawrence College or Manhattanville College in the semifinals later in the week.