Purchase, N.Y. – Senior Stephen Steyer (Staten Island, N.Y.) finished with a career-high 23 points on Friday in a 76-53 road conference loss at Purchase. The loss was the Knights' second straight and their fourth in the last five outings.
 
Mount Saint Mary never led in the game and allowed the first 19 points of the game on Friday. The Knights did not get on the board until a Steyer conversion with 10:27 left in the opening period. The Mount finished the first half just 5-for-28 from the floor and trailed 43-13 after 20 minutes of play.
 
Purchase got off 40 shots in the first half and shot an even 50-percent from the floor and forced 14 Mount Saint Mary turnovers, while committing just five miscues before the break. Nine different Panthers scored in the first half, with three players leading the way with six points.
 
Mount Saint Mary rebounded to shoot better than 41-percent from the floor in the second half and outscored Purchase 40-33 after the break, but could never climb closer than 20 points in the second frame.
 
Steyer scored 21 of his career-high 23 points in the second half, going 6-for-9 from the floor and 8-for-9 from the free-throw line in the second half. He rounded out the game 7-for-13 from the floor and closed out the game with six rebounds and a pair of assists. He was the lone Mount Saint Mary player to reach double-figures in the game.
 
Freshman T.J. Patsalos (Newburgh, N.Y.) posted a team-high nine rebounds in the game and chipped in four points and a pair of blocked shots. Tyler McDine (Suffern, N.Y.) and Connor Nicholson (Staten Island, N.Y.) each finished the game with six points for the Knights.
 
Purchase was led by a trio of players with 10 points, with Joel Neri and Taylor Foster each posting 10 points and eight rebounds. Neri posted three blocks and Foster led all players in the game with three assists.
 
Mount Saint Mary finished the night shooting 29.8-percent overall, while Purchase converted at a 47.8-percent rate. The Panthers forced 21 turnovers and turned those into 29 points and also recorded a 24-14 edge in second chance scoring.
 
Friday's loss drops Mount Saint Mary to 6-11 overall and to 4-9 overall in Skyline Conference play. Next up for the Knights is a home date with St. Joseph's-Brooklyn on Tuesday. Tip-off with the Bears is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.

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