DANBURY, Conn. – The Lesley University men's basketball team suffered a 91-56 setback to Purchase College in the second and final day of the Maron Hotel and Suites Classic at Feldman Arena hosted by Western Connecticut State University.
The Panthers scored the first nine points of the game and were in control the rest of the way thanks to a game-high 26 points from senior guard Andre Nixon (Harlem, N.Y.). Complementing Nixon's offense was backcourt partner Justin Person (Greenburgh, N.Y.) who registered a game-high seven assists to go with his six boards and six points. Junior center Joel Neri (Port Chester, N.Y.) finished with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor while freshman Franklyn Mickens (Glen Cove, N.Y.) knocked down 11 points off the bench.
Lynx senior Mike Kaufman (Boca Raton, Fla.) came off the bench to lead all Lesley scorers with nine points while classmate Kris Bennett (Inglewood, Calif.) corralled a team-high nine rebounds to go with his eight points. Junior Justin Rosa (East Brunswick, N.J.) and freshman Terrell Toney (Lakewood, Wash.) each finished with eight points for the Lynx, who remain winless at 0-4 on the year.
Nixon scored twenty of his points in the opening half as the Panthers built a 39-19 advantage at the break. Purchase kept on the gas in the second half, building a 43-point edge with just under nine minutes to go.
Purchase knocked down nearly 55% of their shots from the floor, including hitting ten from deep while holding Lesley to just a 32% shooting percentage while turning the 21 Lynx turnovers into 29 points.
Lesley will open up their home campaign on Tuesday, November 26th when they host Emerson College at 8:00p at Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols. The matchup will kick-off a four-game home stand including the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) opener against Regis College on December 3rd.