Box Score OLD WESTBURY, NY (www.oldwestburypanthers.com) – SUNY College at Old Westbury men's basketball took care of business Saturday as the Panthers cruised past the Mount Saint Mary Blue Knights 82-69 in Skyline Conference play at the Clark Athletic Center. The win moves Old Westbury to 8-4 on the season and 6-1 in conference action while Mount Saint Mary dropped to 5-7 and 4-3, respectively.
Both teams started hot from the floor as Old Westbury pulled out to a 13-11 lead with 14:04 remaining the opening half and rattled off a 27-17 run to take a 40-28 advantage into halftime. Old Westbury continued their offensive success in the second half, coming out of the locker room to put together a 13-0 run, stretching their lead to 25 with 16:34 left in the half. Mount Saint Mary countered with a 23-5 run to close to gap to seven points, in which Lenny Ragaglia hit four triples and found Dylan McCann for a three-pointer to cap off the scoring burst at the 9:33 mark. Old Westbury responded with a 24-16 scoring margin to close out the game on their way to an 82-69 conference victory.
Lester Prosper proved a difficult matchup for the Blue Knights as the junior center produced 17 of his career-high 30 points in the second half on 6-of-10 shooting. Prosper finished 11-of-17 from the field and 8-of-10 from the line with 14 rebounds (season-high) and one blocked shot in 26 minutes.
Bill Reese followed with 13 points and Frantz Granjean had 12.
Hakiem George scored 10 points and led Old Westbury in distribution with five helpers.
Shane DeNully chipped in with three steals and three assists.
Lenny Ragaglia paced Mount Saint Mary with 27 points on 9-of-17 shooting from beyond the arc while Kevin Milella had 16 points and nine rebounds. Milella converted 6-of-11 for the game and added three steals and one blocked shot in 31 minutes. Eric Boesch added six assists and three steals off the bench.
Old Westbury shot a hair under 47 percent for the game while edging Mount Saint Mary 31-30 in the board's battle, stealing nine balls and blocking three shots. The Blue Knights hit 54.2 percent from the field in the second half and finished the game at 42.9 percent.
FARMINGDALE STATE UP NEXT FOR THE PANTHERS: Old Westbury returns to the hardwood for a Skyline Conference rivalry game with the Farmingdale State Rams in the Clark Athletic Center on Thursday, January 14. Panthers and Rams tip at 8 p.m. in Old Westbury. Please visit www.oldwestburypanthers.com for more information on women's basketball or any of the other Panther athletic teams.
