PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Purchase Panthers hit 55 percent of their field goal attempts on Wednesday night as the Manhattanville University men's basketball team could not keep up with the lethal shooting effort, suffering an 88-64 setback up Anderson Hill Road. The Valiants fall to 5-7 overall and 1-2 in the Skyline Conference with the loss as the Panthers improve to an identical mark.

Andrew Saint-Louis (Norwalk, Conn./Notre Dame Fairfield) and John Ranaghan (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River) led Manhattanville's offensive effort, combining for 34 of the Valiants' points. After being named an MBWA Honorable Mention for his performance against Mount Saint Mary last week, Saint-Louis once again finished as Manhattanville's top scorer with 18 points. The senior shot .500 (7-for-14) from the field with his eighth game in double-figures this year. Ranaghan added 16 points on a 6-for-15 night, hitting four three-pointers to do his heavy lifting.

Andrew Melillo (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) and Jack Scanlon (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River High School) each pulled down five rebounds on a night where Purchase won the battle of the boards 45-26. Purchase found a home in the paint, scoring 42 of their points from close range.

Manhattanville shot moderately well in the first half with a .412 field goal percentage and a 4-for-9 clip from deep, but the Panthers fared even better as the home side connected on 56 percent of its first half tries. The teams were evenly matched through the first 14 minutes, playing to seven different tied scores and the largest lead on either side standing at just five points. The Valiants were on the plus-side of the early lead as a Saint-Louis three and layup by Scanlon put Manhattanville up 12-7 four minutes in.

Purchase broke away and took control over the final six minutes of the half, ending the first on an 18-8 run. The Panthers scored ten straight points to open up the run to take the first double-digit lead of the night as the first-half advantage peaked at 14 off a Rashid Nikiema short range jumper enterint the final minute. Carlos Urena (Corona, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) was able to make up some ground for the Valiants with a layup and-one ahead of a closing second three-pointer to bring the first half to a close with Purchase up 44-34.

The Panthers barely lost a step in the second, shooting 53 percent to close out the night and going 6-for-15 from beyond the arc over the final 20 minutes. The Valiants were held to a .370 effort from the floor and shot 5-of-17 (.294) from deep as they were unable to fully cover the lost ground. Manhattanville threatened to come storming back as the Vals scored nine straight points out of the locker room to slash Purchase's lead down to just a lone point, 44-43.

Despite seeing their advantage all but disappear, the Panthers kept Manhattanville at bay with a 22-4 over seven and a half minutes to reestablish their lead and some, going up 69-50 with nine minutes to play. The Valiants would be unable to get closer than 16 points the rest of the way, hitting just five field goals to close out the game as Purchase secured its first conference win of the year in convincing fashion.

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The Valiants return home on Sunday to host Yeshiva at 12 p.m.

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