PURCHASE, N.Y. - In a contest that saw eight lead changes and eight tie scores, the Purchase College men's basketball emerged victorious Wednesday night, besting Mount Saint Mary College in the Skyline Conference opener, 74-61.

With the win, the Panthers moved to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in league play. For the Knights, they dropped to 2-6 and 0-2, respectively.

In the opening half, the hosts led for much of it, trailing for a combined :50 seconds over the entire 20-minute frame.

Despite the constant advantage, the margin never grew larger than eight points and at the break, the two sides were tied at 35-all.

Once the second half began, the narrative flipped in favor of Mount Saint Mary, as the Knights grabbed the lead early on. During the first seven minutes of the frame, the guests led by as many as four points, though the Panthers never let the game get out of reach.

Over the next six minutes, the two sides traded the advantage back and forth, and were tied on numerous occasions, until 7:25 remained in the contest.

It was at that point Purchase grabbed the lead for good, thanks to a jumper from Mahamadou Nimaga (SR/Bronx, NY), which pushed the score to 57-56.

The final seven minutes then saw the Blue and Orange outscore the guests, 17-5, as the Panthers caught fire from the field. 

During Purchase's final five (meaningful) possessions, the squad scored on each one, including three-straight 3-pointers to seal the game.

In the end, the hosts pushed the margin to as many as 14 points, before settling for a 74-61 win.

Overall, Purchase shot 42% from the field and 30.8% from 3-point range. Both totals were higher than the Knights' as the Panther defense not only smoothed them shooting the ball, but also on turnovers.

The Blue and Orange won that battle, 18-21, and enjoyed a significant margin in points off turnovers as a result, 26-12.

Individually, Matthew Phillips (JR/Bronx, NY) powered the effort on both sides of the ball, finishing with 14 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks.

Nimaga added 12 points, while Rashid Nikiema (SO/Winooski, VT) totaled 10 points and five rebounds.

Up next for Purchase is the first Skyline Conference road game of the season, as the team travels to Riverdale, NY to face Mount Saint Vincent. That game is set for December 9th at noon.