Box Score

PURCHASE, N.Y. - Purchase College overcame an 11-point first half deficit to defeat Mount Saint Mary College, 57-48, in a Skyline Conference Tournament semifinal game on Thursday evening.  The second-seeded Panthers (21-5) will host fourth-seeded Farmingdale State College in Saturday's championship game.

With the teams exchanging buckets in the early going, the score was tied at 9-9 until Mount senior Lenny Ragaglia (Staten Island, N.Y.) heated up.  The senior hit four three-pointers in a span of a little more than three minutes as part of a 14-3 run for the Knights.  When a jumper from junior Joe Henain (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) went down at the 10:04 mark, the Knights led 23-12.

The offense would dry up quickly for the Knights, however, as they would only score three points for the remainder of the half.  Purchase closed the period on a 12-3 run to trail, 26-24, at the break.

Ragaglia's fifth three of the night at the 12:42 mark of the second half pushed the Mount advantage back to five at 38-33.  But the Panthers answered with a 7-0 run to seize a 40-38 advantage.

Mount junior Donte Howell (Baldwin, N.Y.) hit a pair of free throws at the 6:50 mark to complete another exchange of points between the teams, tying the game at 42 apiece.  Purchase extended away with eight of the next nine points and a jumper from junior David Haughton (Greenburgh, N.Y.) at the 2:58 mark made it 50-43, Panthers.

Not ready to concede just yet, the Knights answered with the next five.  Junior Joe Stabach (Staten Island, N.Y.) completed an old-fashioned three-point play and Howell followed up with a pair of free throws to cut the margin back to two at 50-48.

Out of a Mount timeout, the Knights forced a miss from Purchase senior Craig Davis (Queens, N.Y.), but Davis collected his own rebound and finished off the play to push the lead to four.  The Knights missed a three at the other end and were forced to foul.  Junior Andre Nixon (Harlem, N.Y.) drained a pair of free throws and on the ensuing possession, the Mount missed several opportunities to cut into the lead.  Fouling once again, the Knights sent Haughton to the line, where he sunk both attempts to put the game out of reach.

Ragaglia led the Knights with 15 points on his five three-pointers.  Howell added 12 points, four assists, and five steals, but shot just 3-of-15 from the field.  Henain totaled nine points and 10 rebounds.  The Knights shot just 29.8-percent as a team and connected on only 7-of-28 from long range.

Nixon led Purchase with 11 points and nine rebounds, but connected on just 3-of-14 from the floor.  Haughton added 10 points and seven boards, while Davis totaled eight points, nine rebounds, and six blocks.  The Panthers shot 36.2-percent from the field as a team and held a 46-22 advantage on the glass.