Purchase - 79, Farmingdale State - 70
Purchase, N.Y. - Tied at 67-67, Purchase College outscored Farmingdale State 12-3 over the final 2:44 of the game to earn the Skyline Conference victory, 79-70. The FSC men's basketball team fell to 14-7 overall and 12-4 in the conference, while the Panthers improved to 14-7, 9-6.
The Rams dominated the game early as they jumped out to a 22-6 lead only 7:32 into the contest. Purchase would respond with a 17-6 run over the next 6:39 to cut the deficit to just five, 28-23.
Trailing 34-30, Panthers senior guard Brian Berrios (New York, N.Y.) knocked down a 3-pointer before junior center Mike Felix (Goshen, N.Y.) layed the ball in to put Purchase in front by one, 35-34.
With 1:11 left in the half, Rams junior guard Ali Mableton (Brentwood, N.Y.) grabbed an offensive rebound and tallied a layup to give FSC a one-point lead heading into the break, 36-35.
Over the first 5:16 of the second half, Farmingdale State used a 15-4 run to open up a 12-point advantage, 51-39. Mableton and junior forward George Riefenstahl (Bayport, N.Y.) combined for 13 of the Rams 15 points during the run.
Down 55-44, an 8-1 run allowed the Panthers to close within four, 56-52. After a layup by FSC junior forward Eriq Williams (Valley Stream, N.Y.), back-to-back 3's by Berrios and senior guard Max Pearce (Tuckahoe, N.Y.) tied the game at 58-58 with 8:55 left.
After falling behind by four, FSC senior guard Liam Monaghan (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) and Riefenstahl recorded back-to-back layups to tie the game once again, 67-67. On the ensuing possession, Berrios was fouled and hit both at the line to put Purchase up by two.
After a Farmingdale State turnover led to a jumper by Felix, a steal from Berrios and fastbreak score put the Panthers ahead by six, 73-67, with 1:34 remaining. Only 11 seconds later, a 3 by Rams junior guard Matthew Graham (Valley Stream, N.Y.) cut the FSC deficit to three, 73-70.
Over the final 1:23 of the game, Purchase was a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line as they held on for the Skyline Conference victory, 79-70.
Mableton recorded a team-high 16 points and eight assists, while Riefenstahl tallied 13 points, a game-high 13 rebounds and a career-high six assists.
Berrios produced a game-high 22 points off the bench, while junior guard Deshawn Cann (Queens, N.Y.) registered 13 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Panthers.
Farmingdale State next hosts Skyline Conference opponent St. Joseph's-Long Island on Wednesday, February 7th at 8:00 p.m. on Greek Night.
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