Ford Records 1,000th Point in Loss to Purchase
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mitchell (2-2) | 28 | 36 | 64 |
|
Purchase St. (3-0) | 39 | 39 | 78 |
DANBURY, Conn. – Mitchell College senior Joshua Ford recorded his fourth straight double-double and scored the 1,000th point of his career on Saturday night in a 78-64 loss to Purchase College on the first day of play at the Maron Hotel & Suites Classic held at Western Connecticut State University's Feldman Arena.
Ford becomes the second Mitchell player in the College's Division III era to reach the milestone. Needing only 16 points entering the night, he eclipsed the mark on a three-pointer early in the second half en route to a team-high 23 points.
Seven-footer Joel Neri scored a game-high 27 points to lead Purchase. Also scoring in double figures for the Panthers were David Houghton, who recorded a double-double with 20 points and 18 rebounds, and Andre Nixon, who added 11 points. Neri also had seven rebounds and three blocks for the Panthers.
Senior Alex Del Rio was the only other Mitchell player in double figures with 14 points. Ford pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds to finish with the double-double.
Mitchell took an early 12-5 lead in the game's first five minutes, but with 8:45 remaining in the first half, a Houghton 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.
Mitchell gained the early momentum again to start the second half and cut the Purchase lead to 43-40 following Ford's milestone three, but a 7-0 run gave the Panthers another double-digit lead at 50-40. 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.
With the win, Purchase improved to 3-0 on the season while Mitchell fell to 2-2.
Action continues on Sunday at Western's Feldman Arena with the second day of the Maron Hotel & Suites Classic. Lesley University takes on Purchase at 2:00 p.m. followed by a 4:00 p.m. match-up between Western and Mitchell.
