CORTLAND, N.Y. – Junior guard Marc Chasin scored a career-high 39 points including the game-winner as the Ithaca College men's basketball team held off Purchase College, 95-93, on Saturday afternoon in the Cortaca Classic in Corey Gymnasium.  With the win, Ithaca moved to 2-1 on the season while the Panthers suffered their first loss of the 2016-17 campaign and are now 2-1.

Chasin's 39 points elevated him into elite company as the Miami, Fla. native became just the 22nd player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points.  Through three games this season, Chasin, who was named the Classic's Most Valuable Player, is averaging 29.3 points per game this season and has amassed 1,026 points through 52 career games.

It was a see-saw first half as the lead changed hands nine times before the Bombers stole the momentum and closed out the opening stanza with a 15-2 run capped by a 3-pointer from Chasin to hold a 47-40 edge at halftime.

In the second half, Ithaca stretched its lead to nine points just 90 seconds in with back-to-back layups from Gabe Perez-Ronchetta and Carroll Rich to hold a 51-42 lead, but the Panthers would hang around and eventually cut the lead to just two points after knocking down a contested 3-point field goal to make it 57-55 at 14:52.

Both teams continued to exchange baskets over the next several minutes until the Bombers built a 12-point lead, 76-64, with 9:35 left to play after scoring 12 of the game's next 14 points including eight from freshman Riley Thompson.

With 6:35 still left to play, Ithaca held its largest lead of the game, 82-68, after Perez-Ronchetta buried a pair of free throws, but the Panthers would claw their way back into the game and eventually cut Ithaca's lead to just one point, 89-88, after a 20-7 with 1:32 still showing on the game clock.

Chasin would stake his team to a three-point edge with :46 seconds remaining but Purchase took the ball the length of the court and knocked down a shot from behind the arc to knot things up at 93-93.  From there with the score tied and time winding down, Chasin put the team on his shoulders and beat his defender off the dribble and hit the go-ahead layup to give Ithaca the 95-93 lead with 2.3 seconds left in the game.  The Panthers had one final attempt but the shot fell short as the Bombers held on for their second straight win. 

Chasin was 13-for-28 from the floor, which included six from downtown. He also added six rebounds and four assists in 34 minutes.  Peter Ezema, who was also named to the All-Tournament Team, notched his first double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds while Perez-Ronchetta finished with 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting.  Thompson added 14 points in the win with four 3-pointers.    

Ithaca will look for its third straight win at 4 p.m. on Tuesday when it hosts Skidmore College inside Ben Light Gymnasium.