HAMMOND, Ind. – The Purdue University Northwest men's basketball team dropped its first Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference contest of the season Wednesday night to Calumet St. Joseph, 72-56.

The Pride (1-4, 0-1 CCAC) took a 37-34 lead heading in to the half, but the Crimson Wave (2-3, 1-0 CCAC) would step up its defense in the second half to come back and defeat the Black and Gold.

Senior guard Shereff Knight (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) led the Pride offensively with 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting with four assists and three steals while Mike Williams (Gary, Ind./Lew Wallace) (Gary, Ind./Lew Wallace) finished with 12 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Tyree Coe (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) would finish the night with 11 points, Lukas Vilkovsky (Kosice, Slovakia/Get Better Academy) (Kosice, Slovakia/Get Better Academy) notches seven points and Torrance Johnson (Chicago Heights, Ill./Chicago Hope Academy) (Chicago Heights, Ill./Chicago Hope Academy) recorded 6 points and seven rebounds on the night.

The Black and Gold were even with CCSJ, 20-20 midway through the opening half, but a three-point field goal from Knight with just over a minute left in the period gave PNW the 37-31 lead.

With the Pride coming out of the locker room with a three-point lead, CCSJ would step up their energy defensively, taking a 54-47 advantage with over 12 minutes left in the second half.

The Black and Gold cut it's deficit to six points with six minutes left in the game, but the Crimson Wave would hold on to pick up its first CCAC win of the season.

Devin Harrison led the Crimson Wave with 18 points, while shooting 6-of-8 from beyond the arc, while Jose Ramirez pitched in with 15 points and 12 rebounds off the bench.

The Black and Gold return to action Saturday, Nov. 19, when they travel to Davenport, Iowa for a CCAC contest with St. Ambrose University at 3:00 pm (CT).