Newburgh, N.Y. – Ryan Graham (Campbell Hall, N.Y.) hit a three-pointer with 1:55 left in regulation to give the Knights the lead for good and
Connor Cyran (Garfield, N.Y.) scored a game-high 17 points as the Mount Saint Mary College Men's Basketball team took the season series from Purchase on Wednesday night following a 62-58 victory at the Kaplan Center.
Wednesday's victory moves the Mount to 8-14 overall on the season and 5-8 in conference play and following play tonight gives it the final berth in the Skyline Conference Championship with three games to play. Purchase falls to 8-14 and 3-10 in league action following Wednesday's loss.
First Half
- The two teams went back-and-forth in the early going before Jayden Figueroa (New Windsor, N.Y.) started a 7-0 run for the Knights with a layup. Following a triple from Figueroa and a Cyran bucket, the Mount led 10-5 just under four minutes into the contest.
- The Knights maintained the advantage and pushed it to 17-10 following a Justin Rivera (Hazlet, N.J.) free-throw just past the midway point of the half.
- A Cyran layup matched the Knights' half-high advantage when he pushed them in front 19-12 with 9:03 left before halftime.
- The Knights would move their advantage to seven points for a third time on a Figueroa bucket that made the score 23-16 with 5:41 left in the opening period.
- Purchase cut its disadvantage to three points twice late in the half, including on a Josiah Nelson jumper with 2:03 left that pulled the Panthers to within 25-22.
- Miles Calame (Staten Island, N.Y.) came back for the Knights with a put back in the final half minute of the first half to give the Knights the 27-22 halftime advantage.
- Mount Saint Mary converted at 32.4-percent overall in the first half and went 1-for-8 from three-point range.
- Purchase shot 45.0-percent, but made two fewer field goals than the Knights, and hit on two triples before halftime.
- Cyran and Figueroa led the way for the Mount with 10 points apiece.
- Three Panthers scored four points before halftime to lead the team in scoring.
Second Half
- The Knights came out of halftime with the first five points, including buckets from Rivera and Figueroa, to grab a game-high 32-22 advantage.
- Purchase answered with the next 10 points, capped by an Elijah Holmes three-pointer to knot the score at 32-22 with 14:51 left to play.
- Following a Matthew Walsh (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) free-throw that gave the Mount a 33-32 lead, Purchase used back-to-back triples from Holmes and Wesley Fulcher to grab a 38-33 lead at the 13:14 mark of the second half.
- Isaac Johnson later converted a layup to match the Panthers' game-high advantage of five points with 12:24 left to play.
- Purchase maintained the lead until a Jayden Racca (New Fairfield, Conn.) triple with 9:55 left in the second half knotted the score at 40-40.
- The Knights would move back in front 42-40 on a R. Graham bucket and pushed their lead to 45-41 on a three-point play from Cyran with 6:41 remaining.
- A Brenden Graham (Campbell Hall, N.Y.) triple moved the Knights in front 52-46 before seven straight points from Purchase gave it the lead late in regulation time.
- Trey Skeete hit a triple to cut the Knights' lead to 52-51 before a pair of Johnson free-throws gave the Panthers a 53-52 advantage with 2:19 left to play.
- Coming out of a timeout, R. Graham drained a triple from the top of the key with 1:55 left to play, giving the Knights a 55-53 advantage.
- The Knights would not trail again after the Graham trey and hit on five free-throws down the stretch to score the final four-point victory.
- The Knights improved to 41.7-percent shooting in the second half and went 3-for-10 from long range.
- Purchase cooled to 35.7-percent shooting from the field, but connected on six second half three-pointers.
- Cyran and R. Graham led the second half scoring attack with seven points apiece.
- Holmes scored 13 points after the break for Purchase.
For The Knights
- Cyran finished 7-for-14 from the floor on his way to the game-high point total, adding seven rebounds.
- Figueroa closed a double-double with 14 points to go along with game-highs in rebounds with 11 and blocks with five.
- R. Graham totaled seven points, two assists and a game-high four steals.
- B. Graham tallied six points and led the team with three assists.
- Rivera totaled six points and swiped three steals in his second career start.
For The Panthers
- Holmes was the lone player to score in double-figures for the Panthers, finishing with 16 points on the strength of four three-pointers.
- Jalen Bartley led the team with eight rebounds.
- Johnson rounded out the night with nine points, five rebounds and two assists.
Game Statistics
- Mount Saint Mary shot 36.2-percent overall in the game and went 4-for-18 from three-point range.
- Purchase converted at 39.6-percent and connected on eight triples.
- Mount Saint Mary outscored Purchase from the free-throw line 16-12.
- Second chance points went to the Knights 19-12.
- The Knights outscored the Panthers 30-18 in the paint.
- Purchase finished with a 23-17 advantage in points off of turnovers.
What's Next
- Mount Saint Mary plays the middle game of a three-game homestand when it hosts Manhattanville on Saturday.
- Purchase travels to Maritime Saturday afternoon.
