Box Score

OLD WESTBURY, NY (www.OLDWESTBURYPANTHERS.com) – The SUNY College at Old Westbury men's basketball team won its season opener with Saturday afternoon's victory over the Alfred Saxons (1-1), 86-60, in non-conference action from the Clark Athletic Center. 

Alfred held an early 3-0 lead as Sean Curran's triple gave the Saxons their largest lead of the game.  Moments later, Curtis Leslie sank a pair of free-throws to give Old Westbury the lead for good at the 14:06.  Jamal Little dropped in a layup at 4:11 to extend the lead into double-digits, 29-18.  Old Westbury took a 41-28 advantage into the break. 

The Panthers owned the second half, outscoring Alfred, 45-32.  Old Westbury held a double-digit lead for the final 15:57, including going up 82-53 with 4:46 remaining.

Little led all scorers with 25, followed by Cutis Leslie and Dayshawn Long's 12 points and Everard Bisnauth and Kerel Mitchell's 11.  Long and Leslie registered a team-best eight boards each while Rashawn McCarthy dished out a game-high four assists.  Leslie also tallied a game-high four blocks.  Mitchell nabbed a game-high five steals followed by McCarthy and Leslie, who finished with three. 

Mike Branche registered a team-high 13 points to lead Alfred. Derek Lewis and Sean Curran followed with 12 and 10, respectively.  Lewis grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and Tim Pacheco swept away three steals.

Old Westbury had a productive game shooting, going 45.7 percent from the field (32-70), 35.7 percent from behind the arc (10-28) and 70.6 percent from the charity stripe (12-17).  Six different Panther players made a three-point basket as Everard Bisnauth and Jamal Little paced with four each.  Alfred struggled from the field, connecting on just 26.7 percent (16-60), 16 percent from beyond the arc (4-25) while knocking down 75 percent from the line (24-32).  Old Westbury's bench played a major role in contributing to the season opening victory, outscoring Alfred's bench 50-19.  At the glass, Alfred outrebounded OW, 40-36, including 15-9 off the offensive boards.  Old Westbury forced the Saxons into 30 turnovers and scored 41 points off those mishaps. 

BROOKLYN BULLDIGS UP NEXT FOR THE PANTHERS: The Panthers return to the hardwood on Sunday (Nov. 22) for a non-conference battle against the Brooklyn Bulldogs in Brooklyn, New York. Game time is set to tip at 7:30 p.m. from West Quad Gymnasium.

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