Jan 04, 2014
PURCHASE,NY (www.OLDWESTBURYPANTHERS.com) - The SUNY College at Old Westbury men's basketball team opened the 2014 calendar year on the road Saturday afternoon and took an 86-78 Skyline Conference loss to the No. 21 Purchase Panthers on Saturday afternoon inside Purchase College Gymnasium. Old Westbury (6-4) was dealt its first conference setback of the season, moving to 2-1 as Purchase (8-0) improved to 3-0 in conference play.
The home Panthers took control at the outset, getting six points from Joel Neri and five from Andre Nixon in a game-opening 11-5 run. Old Westbury settled down and outscored Purchase 9-2 from 13:18 to 10:32 to take its first lead of the game, 20-19. Old Westbury controlled play over the next couple of minutes and grabbed its largest lead of the game at 7:22 when Ray Parkerconnected from beyond the arc for a 30-26 advantage. Both teams combined for six lead changes in the opening half and Purchase responded with a 19-6 run over the next 7:06 to go up by nine (largest lead of the game) before heading into the break with a 47-39 lead.
Down by eight at halftime, Floyd Leroy scored 10 of Old Westbury's next 19 points to lead the visiting Panthers back with a 58-56 lead at the 14:34 mark. With the game knotted at 60-all, Mark Gjonlekaj sank a three-pointer with 12:11 left to give Old Westbury's its final lead of the game. Old Westbury tied the game twice over the next 3:46 before Franklyn Michens' layup put Purchase up for good. Old Westbury made it a two point game with 4:39 remaining off a Jaquan Potter triple and Purchase answered by closing out the game with a 9-3 run.
Leroy poured in a career-high 22 points (8-15 FG) to pace Old Westbury. Parker struggled with his shooting on the day, finishing with 17 points on just 6-of-20 shooting from the field, which included 2—of-13 from three-point territory. Andrew Andries recorded career-highs of eight points (4-4 FG) and 11 rebounds (game-high) to go along with two steals and one blocked shot. Gjonlekaj added 12 points (5-7 FG) and two blocks in 22 minutes of action before fouling out while Omari Trebuse chipped in with eight points, six assists and five rebounds.
Purchase registered three scorers with 20+ points, led by Mickens' game-high 25 points (11-20 FG) while Neri and Nixon both followed with 20. Nixon, Justin Person and David Haughton each recorded 10 rebounds as Person added game-highs of seven assists (zero turnovers) and three steals to his stat line.
In the end, Old Westbury outshot Purchase from the field 46.7 percent (28-60) to 40 percent (32-80), three-point range 29.6 percent (8-27) to 26.9 percent (7-26) and at the free-throw line 60.9 percent (14-23) to 57.7 percent (15-26). Purchase dominated the play in the paint, outscoring Old Westbury 42-28, while holding the edge in the boards battle, 46-33, turning 21 offensive rebounds into 18 points. Old Westbury's 18 turnovers were converted into 16 points as Purchase committed just nine miscues. Purchase also held the advantage in bench scoring, 38-11.
NYU-POLY FIGHTING JAYS UP NEXT FOR THE PANTHERS: Old Westbury continues play in conference action on Monday (January 6) when they take on the NYU-Poly Fighting Jays in Brooklyn, New York. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. inside Jacobs Gymnasium.
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