Senior Victor Ljuljdjuraj (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) tallied 30 points and 14 rebounds as the 17th-ranked Albertus Magnus men's basketball team defeated Purchase 86-82 in Purchase, N.Y. on Tuesday night.

The Falcons improve to 3-1 with the non-league victory, while the Panthers fall to 0-6 on the year.

Ljuljdjuraj shot 12-of-16 from the field for his season-high performance.

Senior Tavon Sledge (Spring Valley, N.Y.) finished with 13 points, while James Jennings (Bridgeport, Conn.) added 10.  Lemar Larsen (Waterbury, Conn.) shot 6-of-9 from the floor for 17 points as he added seven boards. Larsen began the game a perfect 5-for-5 from the field.

Purchase began the contest with a 5-0 run before extending its lead to 8-2 as the Panthers' Creig Graves scored all eight points for his team.  Albertus battled back to keep the game close before taking its first lead with 6:44 (30-29) left in the opening half.

Eian Davis (Brooklyn, N.Y.) hit two free throws with six seconds left in the first half to tie the score at 40 heading into the break.

The second half was as close as the first as the Falcons' shot 50% (15-30) from the floor, while Purchase shot 51.5% (17-33).  After the score was tied at 60, the Falcons put together a 17-6 run to take the lead for good.

The Falcons' largest lead came at the 5:24 mark in the second half when they led 81-68 (13 points) on a Ljuljdjuraj layup.

Albertus finished the contest shooting 46.9% (30-64) from the field, while Purchase shot 45.1% (32-71).

Purchase, which fell to the Falcons last season in the NCAA Tournament Second Round on their home court, was led by Graves with 25 points and Taylor Foster with 24 points and eight boards.

The Falcons are now 3-0 against Purchase in their last three meetings.

Albertus will open Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play on Tuesday, Dec. 2 when the Falcons return to New Haven, Conn. for a 7:00 p.m. match-up against Anna Maria College.