NEW YORK, N.Y. - The Purchase College men's basketball team dropped a pair of contests over the holiday weekend, as it competed at the NYU Holiday Tournament.

Game One - NYU 74, Purchase 54

On Sunday (12/29), the Panthers were bested in the opening round by the hosts, as the nationally-ranked Violets outpaced the Blue and Orange early on.

Overall, turnovers and offensive rebounds went against the guests, as the two sides enjoyed similar shooting numbers.

Individually, Rashid Nikiema (JR/Winooski, VT) finished with a team-high 14 points, five rebounds and three steals. 

Tyler Bond (JR/Jamaica, NY) added nine points, while Elijah Abrams (FY/Highland, NY) chipped in eight points. 

Game Two - Kenyon 73, Purchase 64

Earlier today (12/30), the Panthers fell in the consolation game to Kenyon College, a Division III school from Ohio.

Despite a closer final score, Purchase actually never led on the day as it managed a pair of tie scores only.

Regardless, the Blue and Orange trailed by just four points at halftime. It wasn't until the second half that the Owls started to pull away, pushing the lead to as many as 19 points.

In the end, the neutral-site battle went to Kenyon by a nine-point margin, 73-64.

Free throws proved to be the difference maker, as the Owls not only took more, but made nine more than the Panthers did (17-25 compared to 8-18).

Individually, Chad Duke (JR/Brooklyn, NY) paced the squad with 11 points and two steals, while Nikiema added 10 points and four rebounds. 

Matthew Phillips (SR/Bronx, NY) collected nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks in the effort.

With the losses, the Panthers dropped to 4-6 overall on the year. Up next is a return to conference action, as the squad travels to Sarah Lawrence College on January 4th at noon.