PURCHASE, NY (
www.OLDWESTBURYPANTHERS.com) - The SUNY Old Westbury men's basketball team heads into the 2015 Skyline Conference Championship Tournament with a four-game winning streak after capturing Saturday's 63-53 road victory against the Purchase Panthers to close out the regular season. With the win, fourth-seeded Old Westbury (12-13) advances to Tuesday's first-round matchup against No. 4 Yeshiva with a 12-6 conference record. Purchase (9-16) moved to 9-9 in conference play and will take on No. 3 Mount Saint Vincent as the six seed.
Omari Trebuse led all scorers with 10 points (4-9) to pace Old Westbury to victory.
Reynaldo Walters followed with nine points and two steals while
Floyd Leroy and Victor Luckens each scored eight points.
Kaleem Edwards racked up game-highs of nine rebounds, five assists and one blocked shot to go along with six points and two steals.
Purchase was led by Troy Singleton and Creig Graves, who each scored a team-leading nine points.
Old Westbury grabbed momentum early as Walters landed a three pointer with 16:25 remaining for a 5-4 lead in the opening half to give the visitors the lead for good. Old Westbury later used an 8-2 run to take its largest lead of the half (25-16) with 3:30 left. Purchase scored the final three points of the half as Old Westbury held a 27-21 lead at the break.
Leroy gave Old Westbury its first double-digit lead of the game with a layup just 1:30 into second-half play for a 33-23 advantage. Moments later, Old Westbury's 11-2 run landed the visitors a 16-point lead (44-28) with 13:45 remaining.
Stephon Odle's layup at 6:12 capped a 9-0 run to put Old Westbury up by 19 points (55-36) for its largest lead of the game. Purchase rallied late with a 14-4 run to pull within nine points, but the deficit proved to be too much to overcome as Old Westbury prevailed with the win.
In the end, Old Westbury shot 41 percent from the field (25-61), 13.6 percent from three-point territory and 76.9 percent from the free-throw line (10-13) while Purchase connected on 31.7 percent from the floor (19-60), 15 percent from long distance (3-20) and 60 percent from the charity stripe (12-20). Purchase won the boards battle, 40-36, while Old Westbury scored 11 second-chance points off seven offensive rebounds. Old Westbury also turned 15 Purchase miscues into 15 points.
YESHIVA MACCABEES UP NEXT FOR OLD WESTBURY: Old Westbury takes on the Yeshiva Maccebees in the first-round of the 2015 Skyline Conference Championship Tournament at home on Tuesady (Feb. 24) at 8 p.m. inside Clark Athletic Center. Entrance is $3 and admission for students with college ID, children under 10 years of age and senior citizens are free.
Old Westbury split the season series with Yeshiva, claiming the February 7 victory at home, 68-48, after falling 81-69 on the road December 6. The Panthers and Maccabees last met in the postseason on February 26, 2008, when the Maccabees erased a 17-point halftime deficit to win 88-82 in overtime at Old Westbury. Since that loss, Old Westbury has won 12 of 14 decisions, including a 7-0 record at home. For the latest news on the Panthers, log on to www.oldwestburypanthers.com – the official site of Old Westbury athletics. Also, become a follower of the Panthers on Twitter (@OW_Panthers) and Instagram (OW_Panthers) and "LIKE" Us on Facebook (Old Westbury Panthers Athletics & Recreation / Old Westbury Athletics Alumni).