NEW YORK, NY - The Purchase College men's basketball team had its hopes of the winning the Skyline Conference dashed Sunday afternoon, as the Panthers fell to Yeshiva University, 86-74, in the Skyline Conference Final.

With the win, the Maccabees of Yeshiva (27-1) clinched the conference title for the second time in three seasons and received the automatic bid for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

As for the Panthers, the team finished the 2019-20 campaign with a record of 18-10 overall.

Entering the contest, the Panthers knew that they would need to play their best game of the season to top the Maccabees. And during the opening minutes Sunday, the guests looked like they had exactly the right formula to do just that.

Purchase exploded out of the gate to grab a 13-3 lead just over four minutes into the game. With the early advantage and the Purchase fans rocking, the guests looked well-equipped to knock off Yeshiva, who entered the contest with a 26-game winning streak.

However, the Maccabees managed to respond with a vengeance and show exactly why they are such a superb squad. Down by the score of 13-3, the hosts answered with an 18-0 run over the next five minutes to snatch the lead away for Purchase, 21-13, with 10:30 remaining.

Over the next three minutes, the Panthers remained within six points of Yeshiva, before the hosts started to pull away once more. During the final seven minutes of the opening frame, the Maccabees outscored the Panthers, 26-16, to go into the halftime break with their biggest lead yet, 55-39.

Over the first 20 minutes of action, the hosts shot an incredible 55.3 percent overall and 64.3 percent from 3-point range, while the Panthers converted 42.9 percent overall and 55.6 percent from three.

Following the intermission, the Panthers came out with the goal of tighter defense and improved intensity on the defensive end to try to slow the hosts.

It worked.

In the second half, Yeshiva scored just 31 points, shot 35.5 percent from the field and didn't make a 3-pointer. 

While Purchase's defense certainly limited the hosts, the offense just couldn't overcome the first-half deficit. In the second, the Panthers shot 42.1 percent overall but failed to make a 3-pointer in the frame. 

As a result, the guests never got closer than nine points the rest of way and trailed by double-digits nearly the entire second half.

Once the final horn sounded, Yeshiva was mobbed on the court by its faithful fans and Purchase left the court with its head held high. No shame in losing to a team that has now won 27-games in a row.

Individually, the Panthers got an outstanding game out of senior Elijah Lott (Albany, NY). Lott finished his final game with a near triple-double, as he recorded a team-high 20 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.

Fellow senior Maxx Miller (White Plains, NY) added 16 points, six rebounds and three blocks, while Jorden Means (FR/New York, NY) chipped in 12 points off the bench. 

Andre Peguero (JR/Boynton Beach, FL) secured his third straight double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds in the defeat. 

For Yeshiva, three players finished with double figures. Potential Skyline Conference Player of the Year, Ryan Turell (SO/Los Angeles, CA) scored a game-high 29 points, while Eitan Halpert (JR/Los Angeles, CA) added 19 points.

However, the best performance of the game came from senior Gabriel Leifer (Lawrence, NY). Leifer finished with 16 points, 24 rebounds and 12 assists and was promptly named the Most Outstanding Player of the Skyline Conference Championships at the end.

The Panthers will return to the court again for the start of 2020-21 season in November.