OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. - Third-seeded Purchase College opened with a strong first half and defeated top-seeded SUNY College at Old Westbury 92-79 on Saturday night at the Clark Athletic Center to capture the Skyline Conference men's basketball championship and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship.
Purchase (20-8), which earned its first-ever NCAA bid in any sport, completed an improbable climb from the bottom of the Skyline Conference standings in just two years. In 2007-08, the Panthers finished last in the conference at 3-22 overall and 2-16 in the conference. Head coach Jeff Charney, who took over midway through that season, rebuilt Purchase into a championship contender, leading the squad to a 15-11 overall record and a 10-8 mark last season. This year's team finished third in the conference at 14-6.
Junior Marvin Billups led Purchase with a game-high 26 points while fellow junior Corey Orgias added 20 points and seven rebounds as the Panthers handed Old Westbury (20-7) its first loss at home in 13 games this season.
Purchase stormed out to a 52-30 halftime lead, shooting a blistering 76.9 percent (20-for-26) in the opening half. The Panthers could seemingly do no wrong, going 8-for-9 (88.9 percent) from 3-point range in the opening period. The game was tied 13-13 with 14:03 left in the first half when Purchase exploded by going on a 25-2 run over the next six minutes. Mike McNair scored 14 of his 17 points during that stretch, including four 3-pointers.
Purchase built a seemingly insurmountable 26-point lead, 60-34, with 16:31 left, but Old Westbury managed to claw its way back into the game, twice closing to within four points. A 3-pointer by Hakiem George pulled Old Westbury to within 71-67 with 4:34 left.
Purchase did not make a field goal the rest of the way, but went 21-for-26 at the free throw line in the final 4:21 to seal the win. For the game, the Panthers went 30-for-43 at the line.
George finished with 21 points to lead Old Westbury. Patrick Bonna added 15 points.