PURCHASE, N.Y. – Behind another big night from a slew of Panthers, Purchase men's basketball held on for an 80-73 win against Sarah Lawrence College on Wednesday.

It was the Panthers' second straight win in as many games as the team moves above .500 in Skyline Conference play.

Sarah Lawrence (3-7, 1-2 SKY) opened the game with a 3-point play from senior Justin Bailey. The Gryphons held the Panthers scoreless on the next possession by forcing a turnover but the visitors were unable to convert the play into points.

Purchase retaliated by pushing the ball down the floor and turning a Sarah Lawrence missed shot into a fastbreak that ended with Terrence Mason (JR/Greenburgh, NY) lofting a pass and Elijah Holmes (SO/Brooklyn, NY) sending it home from inside the paint.

Sarah Lawrence held the advantage throughout the opening 17 minutes of play, but with 2:44 remaining, Purchase's Eric Block (SR/Warwick, NY) erupted with nine-consecutive points to put the hosts ahead, 36-34.  

Malcolm Hansford-Whyte (SR/Queens, NY) kept the momentum going with a made jumper at the one minute mark and Block capped his long-distance barrage with a 3-point bucket at the buzzer.

At the break, Purchase led 41-34. 

A trey from Jordan Knochen (SR/Maybrook, NY) to start the second frame ignited a Panther run that eventually grew to a comfortable 17-point lead (73-56).

Sarah Lawrence clawed back over the next several minutes, slowly chipping away at the PC advantage, but were only able to come within seven points (80-73) as the final buzzer sounded.

Block paced the Panthers offensively with 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor and 3-of-5 from deep.

Hansford-Whyte followed with 14 points and six rebounds, while dishing out a team-high five assists. Justin Mason (FR/Staten Island, NY) came off the bench to tally 13 points and Terrence Mason capped the double-digit scoring with 10 points to go along with six boards.

For Sarah Lawrence, Bailey led all scorers with an impressive double-double performance of 26 points and 11 rebounds. Liam Barry and Amos Grey followed with 15 and 14 points, respectively, to round out SL's double-digit scorers.
 
Purchase looks to continue its winning ways this weekend with a Skyline home game against league foe Farmingdale State starting at 2 p.m.