A back-and-forth contest between Purchase College and visiting Mitchell College went to the Mariners Tuesday night. Mitchell's offense ignited in the final minutes to secure the non-conference victory by a score of 85-80.

Mitchell (6-8) opened the game with eight unanswered points to pull ahead early.

Purchase (2-10) would later find its groove and tie the game at 28 on a Jordan Knochen (SR/Maybrook, NY) jumper. Knochen sunk another 2-pointer in the possession to follow to give Purchase its first lead of the game, 30-28, with 3:22 remaining in the half.

The lead would change hands three more times in the possessions to follow. Mitchell was the last to strike after Alfonzo Stokes forced a Purchase turnover and converted on the fast break.

Mitchell led 38-36 at the break.

Malcolm Hansford-Whyte (SR/Queens, NY) and Justin Mason (FR/Staten Island, NY) hit back-to-back jumpers in the opening minutes of the second half to push Purchase back out in front, 47-46. Hansford-Whyte added another three points with an and-one jumper at 15:43 but the Mariners rallied with a 16-3 run to gain an 11-point advantage.

Trailing 64-53, the Panthers slowly chipped away over the next several minutes until a 3-point bucket from Elijah Holmes (SO/Brooklyn, NY) evened the score at 70 apiece.  

Terrence Mason (JR/Greenburgh, NY) added another four points on back-to-back Panther possessions but the lead was quickly erased following seven unanswered tallies from the Mariners.

Mitchell outscored Purchase 14-5 in the closing plays, connecting on 4-of-4 shooting from the field and 5-of-8 from the free throw line to secure the 85-80 victory.

Stokes led all scorers with 27 points. He also grabbed six rebounds and three steals, while Mikey Buscetto added 16 points and a game-high eight assists. Jalen Benson and Robert Zirlis combined for 24 points and 13 boards.

For Purchase, Justin Mason finished with a team-best 18 points.. Terrence Mason chipped in with 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while Hansford-Whyte netted 12 points and five boards.

The Panthers are back in action on Thursday at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy for a 7 p.m. Skyline matchup.