PURCHASE, N.Y. – Purchase College's Brian Berrios converted the game-winning three-point play with three seconds left as the Panthers thwarted a late comeback from the Manhattanville College men's basketball team and dealt the Valiants a 64-61 defeat in the annual Battle of Anderson Hill Road on Tuesday night at Purchase Gym.
 
Sophomore Willie Britton (Queens, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) led all scorers with a game-high 21 points for Manhattanville (2-3), hitting 9-of-13 shots from the field in 24 minutes off the bench. Junior Alex Tuci (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) also reached double figures for the visitors, netting 15 points and a team-best seven rebounds, while classmate Brian Haggerty (Bayside, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) hauled in seven rebounds as well.
 
Berrios led Purchase (4-1) with 20 points despite making just two of 15 attempts from beyond the arc, thanks in part to 8-of-10 shooting from the line. Deshawn Cann also chipped in 15 points and 12 rebounds for the game's only double-double for the home team.
 
Manhattanville held a 10-7 lead 7:22 into the opening half before Purchase swung momentum with a 15-1 run over the next three-and-a-half minutes, as the Panthers hit 5-of-6 shots from the field and all three free throws to open up a 22-11 advantage with 9:16 remaining in the half.
 
The Valiants could only trade points with the Panthers for much of the remainder of the half, but Manhattanville did close the frame with back-to-back three-point plays from Britton and senior Charles Nardone (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) and a layup from Tuci that decreased the deficit to six (36-30) at intermission.
 
A three-pointer from junior Timmy Quinlan (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's Boys) to start the second half made it a one-possession game, and the teams exchanged mini-runs over the next eight minutes until a Berrios bucket gave Purchase its largest lead of the stanza, a 56-46 lead with 10:58 remaining. However, the Valiants scored seven in a row to get right back into the game, capping the stretch with a three from junior Chris Ayson (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial).
 
Britton got Manhattanville back to even in the final minute of regulation, capping a personal 5-0 run with one of two free throws with 17 seconds left on the clock. But the last possession went to Purchase, and Berrios made it could with a clutch jumper that put his team ahead for good.
 
Neither team shot the ball well on the night, as Manhattanville connected at a 33.8 percent (25 of 74) clip while Purchase shot 29.7 percent (22 of 74) from the field. The Panthers won the game at the line, where they hit 15-of-21 attempts (71.4 percent), whereas the Valiants hit on 47.1 percent (8 of 17) of their shots from the charity stripe.
 
Manhattanville will look to get back on the winning track next Tuesday, when the Valiants host Mount Saint Mary in a rescheduled game beginning at 7 p.m. at Kennedy Gym.