Farmingdale State - 74, Purchase - 61
Farmingdale, N.Y. - Farmingdale State senior guard Liam Monaghan (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) scored a game-high 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting to lead the FSC men's basketball team to a Skyline Conference victory over Purchase College this evening, 74-61. The Rams improve to 8-4 overall and 6-2 in the conference. FSC is now tied for first place in the Skyline.
After a Brian Berrios (New York, N.Y.) 3-pointer put the Panthers (8-3, 5-2 Skyline) ahead 15-12 with 13:11 remaining in the first half, the Rams answered with a pair of Eriq Williams (Valley Stream, N.Y.) free-throws and a 3 by sophomore guard Chaz Platt (Jamaica, N.Y.) to take a two-point lead.
Tied 20-20, a 6-2 run by Farmingdale State, including four points by Platt, gave FSC a four-point edge, 26-22. Panthers junior guard Rob Grullon (Wallkill, N.Y.) would score the game's next five points to give Purchase a one-point lead.
Ahead 28-27 after a pair of free-throws by Rams sophomore guard Kyle Beeson (South Ozone Park, N.Y.), Monaghan knocked down a 3 to regain a Farmingdale State four-point advantage with 4:10 remaining in the first.
The Rams led by three, 32-29, at the break as Monaghan, Platt and junior guard Matthew Graham (Valley Stream, N.Y.) each tallied seven first half points for FSC.
With Farmingdale State ahead 37-35, sophomore guard Troy Feeney (Hewlett, N.Y.) registered back-to-back layups to increase the Rams advantage to six with 15:56 remaining.
Trailing 43-37, a layup by junior guard Deshawn Cann (Queens, N.Y.) cut the Panthers deficit to four. Farmingdale State would quickly counter with a 9-1 run, including a pair of 3's by Monaghan, to bring the FSC advantage to 12, 52-40.
Down 63-51, a Berrios 3-pointer allowed Purchase to close within nine with 5:09 left in the contest. The Rams would answer as junior guard Ali Mableton (Brentwood, N.Y.) used a layup and two free-throws to put FSC in front 67-54.
Farmingdale State led by as many as 17 points down the stretch as they earned the conference victory, 74-61.
Graham finished the game with 13 points and four rebounds, while Feeney shot 5-for-8 from the floor for 11 points.
Purchase was led by senior guard Nikeem Deleon's (Brooklyn, N.Y.) team-high 11 points and Cann's game-high 12 rebounds.
Farmingdale State next travels to play conference foe St. Joseph's-Long Island on Saturday, January 13th at 1:00 p.m.
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