PURCHASE, N.Y. - In the final game before the Thanksgiving break, the Purchase College men's basketball team left it all on the floor, before dropping a close matchup to Yeshiva University Tuesday night, 82-72. 

The contest, which was the Skyline Conference opener for the Panthers, saw seven lead changes and eight tie scores over 40 minutes of frantic action. 

In the opening half, neither side held a lead bigger than eight points, before the guests led 40-36 at halftime.

The second half continued the trend of back-and-forth action as each side held the lead during the final 20 minutes.

For the Panthers (2-3 overall, 0-1 Skyline), their biggest advantage of the frame was six points, 53-47, with 11:35 remaining. 

The Maccabees (3-3 overall, 2-1 Skyline) managed an answer to that deficit by embarking on an 11-4 midway through the frame to pull ahead, 58-57 with under eight minutes to go.

The two sides then proceeded to trade points to an eventual 61-61 tie, before Yeshiva jumped in front for good via a 6-0 run that ended with just under six minutes remaining.

During the final stretch, the Panthers reduced the deficit to just four points but were unable to flip the lead in their favor again.

On the night, the hosts were done in by the excellent shooting of the Maccabees, as Yeshiva outpaced Purchase, 50 percent to 37.9 percent overall.

That margin carried over into three-point range too, as the Panthers shot 35.7 percent and the guests made 48.1 percent.

Individually, Mark Morgan (SR/Bronx, NY) paced the Panthers with a career-high 22 points, as he went 7-for-14 overall and 4-for-8 from long range.

Isaac Johnson (JR/Bronx, NY) added 12 points, while Matthew Phillips (SO/Bronx, NY) recorded his third-straight double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

For the Macs, Oren Betesh was unstoppable in the win as he shot 66 percent from the field to score a game-high 33 points.

Up next for the Panthers is a week of rest, before they return to action at Medgar Evers College on November 30th at 7 p.m.