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PURCHASE, NY (www.oldwestburypanthers.com) –  The SUN Y College at Old Westbury men's basketball season came to a close on Thursday evening as the No. 5 seed Panthers fell to No. 1 seeded Purchase, 85-74, in the semifinal round of the 2010-11 Skyline Conference Championship held in Purchase, New York.

Old Westbury advanced to the semifinal game for the third consecutive year and conclude the season at 13-14. Purchase (22-4) advances to its second consecutive championship game and will take on the third-seeded St. Joseph's-L.I. Golden Eagles (22-5) at home on Saturday.

Old Westbury jumped ahead early on, grabbing a 13-10 lead with 14:19 showing on the first-half clock. Purchase responded with a 25-5 from 13:58 to 5:08 to take a 35-18 advantage. Purchase extended its lead to 44-24 as Corey Orgias connected on a three-point and took a 44-29 advantage into the break.

Old Westbury opened the second half by scoring 20 of the first 30 points to cut the deficit down to five, 54-49, with 11:38 remaining. Purchase countered with a 12-6 run from 10:28 to 6:06 to build its lead back up to double-digits (66-55). Trailing 72-61 with 3:21 left on the clock, Old Westbury put together an 8-2 run capped off by a pair of free-throws by Frantz Granjean at 1:46 to pull within five, 74-69. Purchase was too much for Old Westbury down the stretch, outscoring the visiting Panthers 11-5 over the final 1:44 to advance to the championship game.

Frantz Granjean led the Panthers in scoring for the eighth time this season, tallying 25 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the floor and 8-of-11 from the free-throw line. He used 11 rebounds to post his 12th double-double effort of the season. Lester Prosper registered his 20th double-double of the season in defeat as he went for 10 points and 15 rebounds. He also added two blocked shots to give 251 for his career. Tymel Ambrose dished out a game-high eight assists before fouling out in the final minutes. Jamal Little chipped in with 11 points and three blocks and Matthew Duffy added six points and two swats.

Purchase finished with four players scoring in double-figures, led by Marvin Billups, who finished with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field. Billups added seven rebounds, five steals and two blocked shots while Michael McNair scored 21 points. Corey Orgias and Charles Thompson followed with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Justin Walters added five assists, five rebounds and three steals off the bench.

Old Westbury shot poorly in the first half (32.3 percent) and improved in the second half (32.5 percent) but finished at 38 percent (27-71) from the field, compared to Purchase's 46 percent (29-63). The difference in the game came on the defensive end with Purchase forcing Old Westbury into committing 16 turnovers which were converted into 21 points. Old Westbury won the boards battle, 43-39, including 19-10 advantage off the offensive glass, that were turned into just 13 points.

Old Westbury says farewell to seven seniors including Lester Prosper (four years), Rudy Lys (four years), Frantz Granjean (two years), Tymel Ambrose (one year), Andre Martin (one year), Frederick Hampton (one year) and Christopher Todd (one year). Lester Prosper finishes his career at Old Westbury with 1,479 points, 1,016 rebounds and 251 blocked shots.

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