NEW YORK, N.Y. – Purchase College basketball led the City College of New York with under a minute to play Friday.

But somehow, some way the host Beavers pulled away in the final seconds to beat Purchase, 86-82, inside Nat Holman Gymnasium.

It was a tale of two halves at the non-conference matchup. Purchase (0-2) came out hot, netting five unanswered points in its opening two possessions. Senior guard Eric Block (Warwick, NY) led the first-half charge with an impressive 13 points over 11 minutes of play.

The Panthers held a 44-39 advantage at the break.

CCNY (2-1) fired back in the second half, outscoring Purchase 9-2 in the opening three minutes to take a 49-46 lead. After recording 10 first-half points, Yassine Sakhi continued to lead the Beavers with a game-high 15 points in the second stanza.

After a series of nine-consecutive lead changes, Purchase was finally able to hold the reins at 63-59 thanks to the combined scoring efforts of Elijah Holmes (SO/Brooklyn, NY) and Terrence Mason (JR/Greenburgh, NY).

CCNY clawed back with a rally of its own but it was short-lived as Purchase produced 12 points over its next eight possessions to take a 75-71 lead and force a Beaver timeout with just over five minutes remaining in regulation.

The short break proved timely for the hosts as the Beavers netted five unanswered points to jump back out in front, 76-75.

With 3:10 remaining on the clock, Matthew Phillips tallies two and draws a Beaver foul. He sinks the extra point, giving Purchase a narrow 78-76 lead.  

Both sides exchanged buckets over the next several plays before a Daniel Piszatowski layup broke an 82-82 tie and pushed CCNY out in front with four seconds to go.

With the opportunity to rally at the buzzer, the Panther offense flopped on the inbound with a team turnover.

Following a Purchase foul, CCNY secured the victory with a pair of made free throws from Joey Leighton.

Sakhi led all scorers with 25 points and five rebounds.

For Purchase, James Brady (SR/Yonkers, NY) came off the bench to record a team-best 15 points and three steals. George Spencer III (FR/Troy, NY) and Terrence Mason netted 14 points apiece, while Block chipped in with 13 points.

Senior guard Jordan Knochen (Maybrook, NY) poured in 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds to record his first career double-double.

Purchase returns to action on Wednesday (Nov. 17) for a non-conference road game at Wesleyan University.