ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - The Purchase College men's basketball team used a second-half explosion to cruise to its first win of the season Saturday afternoon, besting Bard College by the score of 75-57.

With the result, the Panthers are now 1-2 overall. For the Raptors, they dropped to 1-3.

In the opening half, the two sides played a back and forth contest, before the visitors entered the midway break trailing by just a point, 29-28.

Following halftime, the hosts continued to control the action over the first ten minutes of the period.

It wasn't until just 9:31 remained in the contest that the Panthers regained the lead for good, 50-49.

Over the rest of the game, Purchase was off to the races as it outscored Bard, 25-8, to closeout the victory.

Overall, the guests shot 42.2 percent from the field and 26.2 percent from long range. For the Raptors, they finished with totals of 41.7 percent and 42.9 percent, respectively.

The key difference came on the glass, as Purchase outrebounded the hosts, 43-27 overall and 13-1 on the offensive end.

Individually, Desmond Ward (SR/Queens, NY) enjoyed a breakout night, scoring a career-high 22 points and grabbing seven rebounds.

Trey Skeete (SR/Brooklyn, NY) was right on his heels with a season-high 20 points, six rebounds and three steals, while Guillermo Zabala (SO/Port Chester, NY) totaled a career-best 14 points and four rebounds.

Up next for the Panthers is a return home as they welcome Mitchell College on November 18th at 6 p.m.