Purchase, N.Y. – Junior Jameson Morton (Woodstock, N.Y.) led four players in double-figures with 22 points as the Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team earned a hard fought 75-70 road win at North Division leader Purchase. By virtue of the USMMA victory over Maritime, the Knights have clinched a berth into the Skyline Conference Championship. Seed and opponent will be determined by the outcome of the Farmingdale State and College of Mount Saint Vincent game.
 
After the two teams traded the lead twice in the early going, the Mount put together a 13-4 run that covered nearly four minutes to surge in front 21-12 with 13:35 left before halftime. Morton started the run with a three-pointer as the Mount went 5-for-5 from the floor over the stretch, including a trio of three-pointers. Five different Knights scored over the run, including triples from Morton, Jovin Ramos (Secaucus, N.J.) and Ethan Fox (Wallingford, Conn.).
 
The Mount saw Purchase climb back to within a single point following eight straight tallies, but an Isaiah Robinson (Garfield, N.J.) bucket started a 9-0 run that pushed the Knights in front 30-20 with 7:18 left in the first half. The Knights equaled their half-high 10-point lead once more in the half before taking a 44-36 lead into the intermission.
 
The Knights shot a blistering 65.2-percent from the floor over the opening 20 minutes, drilling eight of its 11 three-point attempts. Purchase shot an efficient 53.8-percent in the opening stanza, but went just 1-for-7 from three-point range.
 
Mount Saint Mary equaled its game-high lead by jumping in front 46-36 on a Tristan Millett (Allentown, N.J.) bucket early in the second frame. It marked the final time the advantage reached double-figures in the game, but the Mount never trailed in the second half.
 
The Knights saw Purchase get back to within 52-50 on a Jorge Perdomo triple with 14:14 left to play, but a Fox jumper pushed the Mount's advantage back to four. Purchase closed to within two points again following the Fox conversion, but that would be as close as the Panthers would get the rest of the afternoon.
 
The Mount opened a nine-point lead twice over the final 6:07 and after Purchase cut its disadvantage to three points in the closing seconds, a pair of Morton free-throws pushed the Knights to the final five-point decision.
 
Mount Saint Mary cooled to 47.8-percent shooting in the second half and hit on just two three-pointers, but Purchase converted at just 37.0-percent and connected on only two of its nine three-point attempts.
 
Morton tallied a season-high 22 points and reached the 20-point plateau for the third time this season and for the second straight game. He finished the day 7-for-11 overall, 2-for-2 from three-point range and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. He added three assists and five rebounds to the win.
 
Paul Sienke (Washington, D.C.) and Kendall Francis (Great Neck, N.Y.) each recorded 13 points for the Knights, going for a combined 8-for-14 from the floor and 3-for-6 from three-point range. Francis paced the Knights with seven assists and added two steals, with Sienke securing four rebounds to go along with two helpers and a pair of thefts.
 
Fox narrowly missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds, going 5-for-10 from the floor with a pair of triples. Millett closed the afternoon with seven points, two rebounds and a pair of assists for the Knights.
 
Purchase was led by 15 points and six rebounds from Elijah Lott with Perdomo and Elijah Harris each chipping in 12 points.
 
Mount Saint Mary shot a season-high 56.5-percent from the floor on Saturday to go along with a season best 56.5-percent effort from three-point range. Purchase converted at 45.3-percent overall, but struggled from three-point range after going just 3-for-16.
 
At 9-16 overall on the season and 7-9 in Skyline Conference play, the Knights will be in action Tuesday in the First Round of the Skyline Conference Championship. Opponent and time are to be determined.