NEWBURGH, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College men's basketball turned in a gritty, hard-nosed performance on Wednesday evening, but ultimately lost a Skyline Conference showdown to Purchase College by a final score of 72-68. The Knights fell to 18-6 overall (16-3 Skyline), while the Panthers improved to 20-4 overall (16-3 Skyline).

Trailing by as many as 14 in the second half, the Knights roared back into the game with an 11-0 run as the clock headed towards the 12-minute mark. Freshman Donte Howell (Baldwin, N.Y.) knocked down a three-pointer at the 13:42 mark to cut the deficit to single digits, and a layup from junior Carlos Valdez (Carolina, Puerto Rico) at the 12:13 mark completed the run and made the score 47-44.

Over the course of the next several minutes, Mount Saint Mary stayed within striking distance, thanks in large part to a gritty defensive effort from senior Chris Kingly (Washingtonville, N.Y.). Kingly drew a charge at the 10:13 mark scored on the ensuing possession to pull the Knights to within one at 51-50.

Still a tight game as the clock moved towards two minutes to play, freshman Chris Pisciotta (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) put back an offensive rebound to tie the score at 61-61. After a pair of empty possessions, Purchase senior Marvin Billups (Chester, N.Y.) swished a pair of free throws to put the Panthers back on top. But on the next trip down the floor, Mount sophomore Lenny Ragaglia (Staten Island, N.Y.) found an opening in the corner and drained a triple to give the Knights their only lead of the second half.

At the 1:17 mark, Purchase senior Charles Thompson (Upper Marlboro, Md.) got loose for a layup to reclaim the lead for the Panthers. When Ragaglia missed a three-pointer at the other end, Billups was fouled going for the rebound and promptly made two free throws to push the advantage to three, 67-64.

Howell missed a three-pointer on the next trip and the Knights were forced to send Thompson to the line, where he made one-of-two. Howell made a nice move to the basket with 26 seconds remaining, cutting it back to two, but the Knights were forced to foul again. This time, senior Michael McNair (Valley Cottage, N.Y.) made both attempts, all but sealing the win for the Panthers. Mount senior Tim Morris (Greenwich, N.Y.) scored with seven seconds remaining, but with the Knights gambling on a steal, McNair got free for a breakaway layup to cap a 72-68 victory for the visitors.

Valdez led the Knights with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Mount Saint Mary also got 12 points each from junior Kevin Milella (Floral Park, N.Y.) and Morris. Howell added 11 points.

McNair hit on 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-8 from three to lead the Panthers with 21 points. Billups, a perfect 12-for-12 at the line, finished with 18 points, while Thompson added 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

The Knights really struggled to find the range in the first half, connecting at just 25.6-percent. They trailed by as many as 14, but a three-pointer from Ragaglia near the first-half buzzer cut the half time deficit to nine at 38-29.

The Mount held a 51-28 advantage on the glass and grabbed an astounding 25 offensive rebounds. They shot 51.6-percent in the second half to finish at 37.1-percent for the game. Purchase shot 42.3-percent and hit on 6-of-19 from long range.

Still in the hunt for the top seed in the conference tournament, Mount Saint Mary will need to win their regular season final against St. Joseph's to claim a share of the regular season title and the number one seed. The tip is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Saturday in the Kaplan Center.