BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's University, New York (Brooklyn) men's basketball team earned an 83–81 Skyline Conference win over Purchase College on Wednesday night at The Hill Center.

The Panthers grabbed an early edge and led by three midway through the first half, but the Bears answered with a steady scoring stretch to move in front for good. Justin Munson (Middle Village, N.Y.) repeatedly finished in the paint during the middle portion of the half, and the Bears closed the final four minutes with a strong sequence: Maven Cummings (Brooklyn, N.Y.) logging a couple of interior finishes, Colin Mills (White Plains, N.Y.) hitting a jumper, and Munson scoring at the rim while burying a three with 1:03 left. Munson then went 2-for-2 at the line in the final 30 seconds, to finish the period with 20 points, to send the Bears into halftime up 46–33.

St. Joseph's extended the margin early in the second half, with Munson knocking down a three at the 16:43 mark to push the lead to its largest at 55–39. Purchase chipped away and made it a one-possession game in the final minute behind a late surge, highlighted by drilling back-to-back threes in a 10-second span to cut the deficit to 80–75 with 0:43 remaining. The Panthers continued to pressure, pulling within one twice (80–79 and 82–81), but the Bears closed it out at the line as Munson hit two free throws with 0:25 left, and after Purchase scored with 0:10 remaining, Munson knocked down the deciding free throw with nine seconds on the clock to seal the two-point win.

Munson led the Bears with 38 points, surpassing his career-best from last Tuesday. He added 10 rebounds and three assists. Cummings and Mills each finished with 14 points, while Jacob Idowu (Wiesbaden, Germany) recorded 11 points with 10 rebounds. Adam Jasaraj (Staten Island, N.Y.) pulled seven boards.

The Bears head to Purchase as they face Manhattanville University on Saturday, January 31 at 1 pm.