Purchase, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team saw its season come to a close on Tuesday night following a 64-51 road loss at second seeded Purchase in the quarterfinal round of the 2020 Skyline Conference Championship. Senior Kendall Francis (Great Neck, N.Y.) rounded out his standout career at the Mount with 13 points.
 
Playing for the second time in four days, the Mount got out to an 8-4 lead on the Panthers following back-to-back three-pointers from Francis and fellow senior Tristan Millett (Allentown, N.J.) with 17:36 left before halftime.
 
The Mount maintain a slim advantage until Purchase surged in front 26-10 on the strength of a 22-2 run that covered nearly eight minutes. The Mount was limited to just one field goal over the stretch, while the Panthers went 8-for-12 from the floor, including a trio of three-pointers. Maxx Miller led the attack with seven points for the Panthers.
 
After falling behind by a game-high 16 points in the middle stages of the opening period, the Mount sliced its deficit in half heading into halftime. Purchase was held to just three field goals over the final 7:36 of the half and was outscored 15-7 heading into the break.  Paul Sienke (Washington, D.C.) keyed the closing run with six points for the Knights and a Nick Lucas (Sparta, N.J.) conversion with 33 seconds left in the period got the Mount to within 33-25 at the half.
 
The Mount shot 38.5-percent from the floor prior to halftime on Tuesday with the Francis and Millett triples in the early gong its only conversions from long range in the half. Purchase shot better than 41-percent over the first 20 minutes, hitting on three triples and outscoring the Mount by three from the free-throw line. Miller led all scorers at the half with 11 points for Purchase, with Francis pacing the Knights with seven tallies.
 
Purchase built its lead back to 12 points on a Miller jumper early in the second half and held the advantage until a furious Mount Saint Mary run saw it pull in front 40-39 on an Ethan Fox (Wallingford, Conn.) lay-in with just over 12 minutes left in regulation. The 14-1 run for the Mount took 5:23 off the clock and saw Purchase only attempt three field goals. The Panthers turned the ball over six times with the Mount going 5-for-11 from the floor. Sienke and Fox each scored five points over the stretch with Jameson Morton (Woodstock, N.Y.) scoring four points.
 
Purchase answered with the next eight points, including a pair of Elijah Lott free-throws that gave the Panthers the lead for good in the game. The Mount managed just 11 points over the final 12 minutes of regulation time, going 2-for-7 from three-point range and 3-for-8 from the free-throw line.
 
The Mount converted at 29.6-percent overall in the second half and hit just two of 10 three-point attempts. Purchase improved to 45.5-percent shooting after halftime, hitting two more field goals than the Knights in the period on five fewer attempts.
 
Francis closed out his career with 13 points on 5-for-17 shooting with three triples. He added four of the team's seven assists in the game and swiped three steals. Francis finishes his four-year career with 1,209 points, 207 assists and 109 steals.
 
Sienke finished up the night 5-for-8 from the floor on his way to 13 points, adding a pair of rebounds and three thefts. Fox chipped in 11 points, four rebounds and a block with Millett securing four rebounds and contributing three points. Morton finished off a solid night with nine points, four rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.
 
Purchase was led by 19 points from Miller he hauled in nine rebounds and added two assists and two steals. Jorge Perdomo knocked in three triples on his way to 15 points with Lott chipping in 11 points, eight rebounds five assists and four steals. Andre Peguero closed out a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
Mount Saint Mary shot 34.0-percent in the game, including a 4-for-18 effort from three-point range. Purchase shot 43.1-percent and connecting on five threes. The Panthers hauled in 13 offensive rebounds and outscored the Mount by seven in second chance points.
 
Mount Saint Mary finished the 2019-20 season with a 9-17 overall record.