Farmingdale State - 101, Purchase - 88
Farmingdale, N.Y. - Farmingdale State shot 52-percent from the floor and 48-percent from 3-point range in tonight's 101-88 Skyline Conference victory over Purchase. The Rams won their ninth straight game and improve to 13-5 overall and 9-0 in the conference.
Leading 23-17 with 12:18 left in the first half, Farmingdale State used back-to-back layups from Ryan Kennedy (Maspeth, N.Y.) and Eddie Higgins (Bellmore, N.Y.) to open up a 10-point advantage.
With 8:19 remaining and FSC ahead 30-22, an 8-0 run over the next 2:53 gave the Rams a 38-22 lead. After a 3-pointer on the next Purchase (12-5, 6-3) possession, FSC responded with a layup from Matthew Graham (Valley Stream, N.Y.) and a 3 by Kennedy to extend the advantage to 43-25. The Rams maintained an 18-point edge the remainder of the first half as they took a 53-35 lead into the break.
FSC's Liam Monaghan (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) tallied a team-high 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc in the first half.
The Rams opened up a 62-40 lead over the first four minutes of the second half, before a 9-0 run by the Panthers cut the Purchase deficit to 62-49. After a Kewan Beebe (Glen Cove, N.Y.) 3 pulled Purchase within 11, FSC's Kyle Beeson (South Ozone Park, N.Y.) responded with six straight points to bring the Rams' advantage to 71-54 with 11:10 remaining.
With 10:43 left to play and Farmingdale State ahead by 15 points a quick 11-2 run extended the lead to 82-58.
Leading by 19 with less than eight minutes remaining, Monaghan connected on a 3 and Chaz Platt (Jamaica, N.Y.) followed with a layup to give the Rams an 88-64 advantage. FSC led by as many as 26 down the stretch in the 101-88 victory.
Monaghan led all scorers with 19 points and had five assists, while Beeson scored a career-high 17 points after shooting a perfect 7-of-7 from the field. Platt also notched a career-high with 16 points and added a game-high six assists, while Kennedy finished the evening with 11 points. Sophomore forward George Riefenstahl (Bayport, N.Y.) pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds in the win for Farmingdale State.
The Panthers were led by junior guard Brian Berrios (New York, N.Y.) who had 17 points, six boards and four assists.
Farmingdale State will now travel to Merchant Marine for a conference matchup on Saturday, January 28th at 2:00 p.m.
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