Purchase Gets the Best of Men’s Basketball in Overtime Battle

PURCHASE, N.Y. – Sophomore Trey Skeete knocked down a go-ahead three-pointer with three seconds remaining, lifting Purchase College over the Mitchell College men's basketball team 82-79 on Thursday night in a non-conference showdown.

The basket completed the comeback for Purchase and closed out a game which was back and forth down the stretch, and saw Mitchell leading by as many as 15 points midway through the second half.

Junior Jaylyn Clardy (Pensacola, Fla.) paced the Mariners, finishing with a game-high 27 points, while adding three rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Senior Dontae Pollard (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.) poured in a season-high 22 points for Mitchell and recorded his second double-double of the season by adding 11 rebounds. Sophomore Brandon Lee (Stockton, Cali.) also notched a double-double, his third of the winter, chipping in 10 points and 13 boards.

After Mitchell and Purchase managed just one basket each through the first three minutes of play, the Mariners jumped ahead by going on 14-2 run over the ensuing five minutes to build a 16-4 edge. Strong play by the Panthers followed, and allowed the home squad to trim the deficit to four when Wesley Fulcher drilled a three-pointer midway through the opening half, but a 12-7 run by Mitchell followed to propel the Mariners to a 30-21 lead at the intermission.

The Mariners maintained their lead into the second half, going up by 15 when Dontae Pollard converted on a three-point play eight and a half minutes into the frame, and led again by 15 again one minute later after junior Robert Zirlis (Clinton, Conn.) made a layup. The Panthers remained within striking distance and trailed by eight points when Fulcher made a pair of three throws three minutes later. Taking advantage of a stagnant Mitchell offense, Purchase continued to battle, and found themselves down by three at the 5:17 mark after an Isaac Johnson layup, which in turn led to a Mitchell timeout.

Junior Wilton Causey (Worcester, Mass.) then made a layup off an assist by fellow junior Byron Dunn (Westerly, R.I.), pushing the Mariners ahead 61-56 with five minutes left, but Johnson immediately answered with a three-pointer for Purchase to make it a two-point game. The Panthers were able to tie things up with 2:36 on the clock on a layup by Trey Skeete, but Mitchell's Jaylyn Clardy answered seconds later with a basket from downtown. Two made free-throws by Isaac Johnson followed to trim the Purchase deficit to one point, 68-67. Byron Dunn was then fouled and went 1-2 at the line to give Mitchell a two-point edge, but a basket by Matthew Phillips of Purchase with five seconds on the clock knotted the score and sent the game to overtime.

A pull-up basket by Clardy 35 seconds into the extra stanza put the Mariners on top, 71-69, but a minute later Mahamadou Nimaga drilled two free-throws for Purchase to once again tie the score. On the very next possession, Clardy made a layup, drew the foul, and converted the three-point play. The back and forth affair continued immediately after, as Rashid Nikiema made a basket, which led to a Panther's timeout. Purchase was then able to take their first lead since the early moments of the game when a Nimaga basket put the Panthers on top, but a layup by Brandon Lee followed, putting the visitors back ahead, 76-75.

The Panthers would proceed to make four three throws over the next minute, giving them a three-point lead, but a free-throw by Clardy and a layup by Elijah Miller again had the score tied, 79-79. With the clock winding down in overtime, the home team had one more big shot up their sleeve, as Skeete nailed a corner three in waning seconds, securing the sixth win of the season for the Panthers.

Mahamadou Nimaga put up a team-best 16 points for Purchase, who had five players finish in double-figures scoring. He was joined by Matthew Phillips (14 points, nine rebounds, five blocks), Wesley Fulcher (14 points), Trey Skeete (13 points, four rebounds, three assists), and Isaac Johnson (11 points, four rebounds).

Despite shooting 49.2% from the floor, the Mariners were just 2-11 from three-point range, while the Panthers shot 8-17 from deep. Mitchell also finished just 63% from the free-throw line as opposed to Purchase, who shot 18-20 from the stripe. Mitchell won the rebounding battle 47-34, yet committed 11 more turnovers than the Panthers, whose bench outscored that of the Mariners, 35-15.

The Mariners (1-8, 0-1 GNAC) will return to the court on Tuesday, December 19th, when they travel to Florida to take on NAIA opponent, Warner University. The Panthers (6-3, 2-0 Skyline) will pause until after the Christmas holiday, taking the court next on Friday, December 29th, when they play Mount Aloysius College at the Medgar Evans College Tournament.