Danbury, CT (Nov. 23-24, 2013) – Two up, two down.
Fresh off its season-opening tournament win last weekend at Eastern Connecticut, the Purchase College men's basketball team returned to action this week in the same state and produced similar results in another tournament, reeling off two more wins to improve to 4-0.
The Panthers captured a pair of victories in the Maron Hotel & Suites Classic held at Western Connecticut State University's Feldman Arena. Saturday, Purchase defeated Mitchell College 78-64, and on Sunday the Panthers topped Lesley University, 91-56.
It was Purchase front court that got the Panthers in the win column in the opener. Center Joel Neri (JR/Port Chester, NY) and forward David Haughton (SR/Greenburgh, NY) were the story against Mitchell. Neri scored a game-high 27 points and Haughton added 20 points and 18 rebounds for a double-double. Guard Andre Nixon (SR/Harlem, NY) chipped in 11 points. Neri also finished with seven rebounds and three blocks for the Panthers, who fended off a strong performance from Mitchell senior Joshua Ford. Ford recorded his fourth straight double-double and scored the 1,000th point of his career on Saturday night in the first day at WestConn.
Ford becomes the second Mitchell player in the college's Division III era to reach the milestone. He finished with a team-high 23 points.
Mitchell (2-2) took an early 12-5 lead in the game's first five minutes, but with 8:45 remaining in the first half, a Haughton jumper gave Purchase a 17-16 lead it would never relinquish.
The Panthers led 39-28 at the half after shooting 53 percent in the stanza.
Later, a 7-0 run gave the Panthers another double-digit lead at 50-40 in the second half. The lead was still 10 points (67-57) with five minutes remaining, but Purchase pulled away down the stretch to win by the final margin of 78-64.
For the game, Purchase held a commanding 45-24 advantage in rebounds. The Panthers finished shooting 52 percent from the floor and 71 percent from the line, while Mitchell hit 41 and 83 percent, respectively.
Purchase rolled to a 91-56 victory over winless Lesley on Sunday in the 2 p.m. matchup.
Nixon led all scorers with 26 points for the Panthers, now 4-0 on the young season.
Neri and Franklyn Mickens (FR/Glen Cove, NY) added 15 and 11 points, respectively for the winners.
For Lesley, Mike Kaufman led the Lynx, now 0-4, with nine points.
The Panthers led from the opening tip and built their largest lead of 43 points following a lay in from Mickens with 8:33 remaining in the game.
Haughton collected a game-high 11 caroms, capping a great weekend for the senior captain.
The Panthers will now return to Purchase in preparation for Tuesday night's home opener against SUNY Brockport at 7 p.m. Prior to the game, last season's championship team will be recognized during a pre-game ceremony in which all of the members of the 2012-13 Skyline Conference champion and NCAA Tournament participant will receive championship rings. Fans are encouraged to arrive no later than 6:30 p.m. for the ceremony.
-Bobby Ciafardini, SID, with Western Connecticut and Mitchell Sports Information