Final Stats

Purchase, N.Y. – The College of Mount Saint Vincent Men's Basketball team was dealt its second straight defeat on Thursday night after a 91-64 loss at the hands of league rival Purchase. Sophomore Shaquille Cunningham (Brooklyn, N.Y.) paced two Dolphins in double-figures with a season best 17 points.

For the first time all season the Dolphins failed to hold the lead in a game, as Purchase led throughout on Thursday night. The Panthers shot just 38.7-percent in the opening stanza, but went 14-for-18 from the charity stripe on their way to a 41-26 advantage at the break. Michael McNair led all scorers at the half with 12 points.

Purchase would not have its lead dip under 12 points in the second half and pushed its advantage to as many as 33 points in the final 3:04 after a John Simmons lay-in. Overall in the game Purchase shot an even 50-percent from the floor and finished up 21-for-28 from the free-throw line. Marvin Billups led all players and paced three Panthers in double-figures with a game-high 28 points. McNair added 19 points and Andrew Wilen chipped in with 12 for Purchase.

Mount Saint Vincent finished the game shooting 41.1-percent from the floor, but again struggled from three-point range knocking down just five of its 21 attempts. Newcomer Maxxwell Faircloth (Brooklyn, N.Y.) hit two of the Dolphins' five triples in the game.

Cunningham finished the night 5-for-9 from the floor and 7-for-10 from the free-throw line on his way to the team-high point total. Cunningham, who has now scored in double-figures in five straight games, also added six rebounds and a pair of assists.

Junior Cody Gauvard (Rockaway, N.Y.) added 12 points for Mount Saint Vincent, while matching his career-high with three blocked shots. Mark Waite (Chicago, Ill.) came off the bench to contribute nine points and a team-high eight rebounds. Gauvard and George Naldjieff (Miami, Fla.) each grabbed seven rebounds for the Dolphins.

For the game, Mount Saint Vincent was outrebounded 40-34 and the Dolphins turned the ball over 30 times leading to 34 Purchase points. The Panthers also held a big edge in points in the paint, outscoring the Mount 40-26 inside.

After a 10 game winning streak to open the season, Mount Saint Vincent now stands at 10-2 overall and 5-2 in Skyline Conference play. The Dolphins will look to rebound when they return home on Saturday afternoon to host Maritime. Tip-off with the Privateers is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at the Peter Jay Sharp Center.