New York, NY - The Purchase College men's basketball team held off CCNY Wednesday evening, 85-76, as the Panthers picked up their first win of the season and knocked off the Beavers in the 2017-18 home opener.

A three-pointer from Brian Berrios with 7:18 remaining in the first half afforded Purchase a 25-24 advantage, a lead the Panthers held for the remainder of the contest despite four lead changes in the opening 10 minutes. Berrios finished the contest with 17 points and five rebounds while Deshawn Cann provided 17 points to go along with four rebounds, four assists and two steals for the visitors. 

Purchase produced a 52.8 shooting percentage (28-for-53) from the field for the game, just 7.2 percent better than the Beavers (45.6 percent/31-for-68) for the evening. The Panthers also hauled in a rebounding advantage of 38-36 that aided 38 points in the paint.

For the Lavender & Black, freshman Samuel Williams tallied 24 points, five rebounds, and two steals in 38 minutes of action. Junior Wils Jazilek and sophomore Austin Volkens each scored a career-high in the contest. Jazilek totaled 14 points and two rebounds, while Volkens finished with 13 points and a pair of steals and assists. Senior Salvatore Palazzolo led the team in rebounding, ending with six boards, to go along with six points.

In the second half, a Michael Soffer three-pointer less than six minutes into the half helped create the largest lead of the game for Purchase of 16 points at 59-43. Immediately following the lead extension, the Beavers pulled together a 22-11 run, capped off by a jumper from Williams that cut Purchase lead to 70-65, with 6:10 remaining.

The Panthers capitalized on late fouls by CCNY, connecting on five out of six free throws in the final minutes. The Beavers managed to cut the deficit back down to five at 77-72 with 1:08 remaining, however, time was not on the side of the Lavender & Black as Purchase went on to the 85-76 win.

CCNY returns to non-conference road action this weekend with a trip to Middletown, PA for the Penn State Harrisburg Tip-off Tournament.  The Beavers face off against the University of Mount Union on Saturday and play on Sunday in the Championship/Consolation game.