PURCHASE, N.Y. — A Joseph Idyahia (Glendale, N.Y. / Christ the King) three-pointer with eight seconds remaining erased a seven-point deficit with under two minutes to play, but Purchase College made 1-of-2 free throws with one second to take a 71-70 Skyline Conference win over the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team on Monday night.   

The Basics

• Final Score: Purchase 71, St. Joseph's 70
• Records: Purchase (5-7, 3-4 Skyline), St. Joseph's (6-5, 4-4 Skyline)
• Date: January 4, 2016
• Location: Purchase, N.Y.
• Arena: Purchase College Gymnasium
• Starters:
  • St. Joseph's: Murray (G), O'Neill (G), Willis (G), Megafu (F), Archer (F)
  • Purchase: Reyes (G), Neri (G), Credle (F), Jackson (F), Foster (F)

Turning Point

• On Purchase's final possession after Joseph Idyahia's game-tying triple, Taylor Foster grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled on a close call away from the basket with one second remaining. After missing the front end, Foster sank the second for the victory with O'Neill's half-court shot at the buzzer drawing front rim.

How it Happened

• Neither team created much separation until a 10-0 run over 3:41 jump started by a Matt O'Neill and-one built the Bears largest lead of the game, 32-24, with six minutes left.
• The Bears carried a seven-point lead into the lockers, 39-32, behind a 50 percent shooting effort.
• But that lead evaporated quickly shooting 1-for-10 in the first six minutes of the new period while the hosts found their range.
• With the game tied at 46-all, Purchase connected on half of their attempts and assembled an 16-8 run to build their largest lead of the game, 62-54, with 7:35 to play.
• Senior Nolan Parr provided a spark off the bench and his layup started an 8-0 spurt to tie the game again at 62-all with 4:39 to go, but Purchase responded with seven straight building a 69-62 lead with under two minutes to play.
• The Bears would rally again and Idyahia's triple with eight seconds remaining tying the game at 70-all seemed to force overtime, but a foul with one second left doomed the Bears comeback.

For the Bears

• Senior Matt O'Neill netted 20 points with seven rebounds, six assists and two steals.
• Freshman Joseph Idyahia drained 5-of-11 from three-point land coming off the bench to score a career-high 15 points.
• Senior Jamir Archer shot 7-of-13 for 14 points and grabbed five rebounds.
• Senior Michael Megafu recorded his eighth double-double of the season—moving into a tie for the Division III lead—with 11 points and 13 rebounds.  

For the Panthers

• Taylor Foster recorded a 17-point, 12-rebound double-double to lead four in double figures.
• Nicholas Jackson and Kalyn Credle both tallied 13 points each with Jackson pulling down seven boards.
• Jose Reyes added 12 points, five assists and four rebounds.

Inside the Box Score

• After shooting 50 percent (18-36) in the first half, the Bears struggled to connect on just 26 percent (10-38) in the second half, finishing at 38 percent for the contest.
• Seven of the Bears' 10 field goals in the second half came from behind-the-arc with four by Idyahia who led all scorers in the second half with 12 points.
• Megafu cleared his eighth double-double in the first 20 minutes with 10 points, 11 rebounds.
• Both teams protected the ball well with just 21 combined turnovers (SJC 11) and the Bears, who lead the Skyline Conference in steals, swiping a season-low five.
• The closely contested contest featured six ties and 15 lead changes with both teams building leads as large as eight and holding an advantage a nearly identical 18 minutes each.

The Bear Facts

• Purchase edges ahead to 6-5 in the all-time series in the first meeting since a neutral site encounter in 2012 with the Panthers now winning two in a row.
• The loss drops to the Bears back to .500 in league play in a tie for sixth place with sibling rivals SJC Long Island with the Golden Eagles visiting Brooklyn on Thursday.

Next up for St. Joseph's

The Bears will continue a busy three-game week in Skyline play welcoming SJC Long Island to The Hill Center on Thursday, January 7th looking to split the season series and remain above .500. When the teams met nearly a month ago, the Golden Eagles seized a 72-66 victory in the Danzi Center. The men will play in the nightcap of the doubleheader with the women slated for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff with live stats and video on SJCBears.com.