JAMAICA, N.Y.—The York College men's basketball let an 11-point first-half lead get away and fell to Purchase College, 81-78, in non-conference action at the York College Gymnasium.

Rashaan Bailey saw an impressive effort go to waste. He nearly recorded a triple-double, finishing with 18 points, 12 boards and nine assists. Ryan Smart had a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards, while Taron Pascal added 16 points. Sasha Clarida netted 11 points and played strong defense all night, recording three steals.
Purchase saw all five of its starters score in double figures. Nicholas Jackson led the way with 18 points and 14 boards.  

After leading 42-31 at the break, the Cardinals came out flat in the second half. With the lead cut to four points with just under 11 minutes remaining, Purchase got a tip-in from Joel Neri and a three pointer from Michael Soffer to take a 61-60 lead—its first of the contest.  From there Purchase caught fire and pulled ahead by 11 points (79-68) with 2:21 to play.

The Cardinals then staged a furious rally of their own, forcing four turnovers in five Purchase possessions and scoring each time to cut the deficit to just one point (79-78) with just 20 seconds remaining.  York had a chance to win it on the next possession, but they turned the ball over as well and were forced to foul.  Purchase hit both free throws to go up by three. York brought the ball up with eight seconds remaining and got a good look from Bailey, but the shot was just off the mark.

Both teams are now 1-2 after three games of play.  York will face Widener University on Friday at 6 p.m. as part of the Manhattanville College Tournament.  Live stats and video will be available at yorkathletics.com/coverage