PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Purchase College men's basketball team battled down to the wire to defeat the visiting Knights of Mount Saint Mary College, 70-67, Saturday afternoon.

Senior guard Eric Block (Warwick, NY) notched a career-best 26 points to fuel the epic win for Purchase. The Panther standout came off the bench to connect on 9-of-16 from the field, including a notable 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. He netted a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line, to go along with a pair of rebounds.

Senior guard Malcolm Hansford-Whyte (Queens, NY) also produced double digits for the Panther offense with 13 points. He tied the team-high in rebounds (7) with teammates Jordan Knochen (SR/Maybrook, NY) and Terrence Mason (JR/Greenburgh, NY).

Mount Saint Mary opened the game with seven unanswered points, forcing a timeout from the home bench. Purchase followed the short break with back-to-back layups from Block and Hansford-Whyte, respectively.

Purchase trailed 12-7 with 13 minutes left in the half but would quickly claw back to tie the game at 12 apiece. Block hit a jumper off the fastbreak before Elijah Holmes (FR/Bronx, NY) shutdown the Knights' counterattack with a block in the paint. Handford-Whyte scooped up the rebound and found the hands of Block, who netted the 3-point bucket to tie the score.

The Panthers outshot MSMC 24-19 to close the half with a 36-31 advantage.

Purchase kept its momentum going after the break and saw its lead reach a game-high 13 points (46-33) on a Knochen triple at 16:23.

In the next six minutes, however, the Mount offense ignited and outshot the hosts 19-5 to take back the lead, 52-51.

The lead would trade hands once more following back-to-back made free throws from Mark Morgan (FR/Bronx, NY) and Holmes, respectively. The swing, in favor of the home team, would be the final for the game as Purchase held on for the 70-67 victory.

With the win, Purchase (5-16, 5-9 Skyline) moves to No. 4 in the Skyline North Division and keeps its hopes for a playoff berth alive. Mount Saint Mary (6-15, 4-9 Skyline) drops one seed below Purchase as its window for the postseason begins to close. The fate of both teams will be determined by the results of their final three regular season games, along with the results from other league institutions.