BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Sophomore guard Elijah Fermaint (Orlando, Fla.) scored 25 points as the Pratt Institute men's basketball team dropped an 87-82 overtime decision to St. Joseph's University, Brooklyn on Tuesday night at The Hill Center.

Pratt (1-1) erased a late five-point deficit in regulation to force the extra period, but St. Joseph's (1-2) used a late surge in overtime to claim the nonconference victory.

The Cannoneers built an early 17-8 lead after a three-point play by Fermaint with 12:19 remaining in the first half. The Bears responded with a 15-4 stretch to move ahead 23-21, but the black-and-gold closed the half on a 7-0 run over the final 1:46, capped by a layup from sophomore forward Kurt Thomas (Dallas, Texas), to carry a 40-33 lead into halftime.

St. Joseph's rallied in the second half, forcing six ties before taking a 69-64 lead on a 3-pointer with 3:07 left in regulation. Pratt closed regulation with a 7-2 stretch that turned a 69-64 deficit into a 71-71 tie, punctuated by a game-tying layup from Thomas with 30 seconds remaining to force overtime.

First-year guard Roman Hughes (Miramar, Fla.) and Fermaint opened the extra period with 3-pointers to keep the Cannoneers in front, but the Bears countered to tie the score at 77-77 on a three-point play with 3:05 left. After Fermaint sank two free throws to put Pratt ahead 81-80 with 1:13 remaining, Justin Munson converted a three-point play with 55 seconds left to give St. Joseph's the lead for good at 83-81.

Fermaint led Pratt with 25 points, shooting 8 of 14 from the floor and 6 of 9 from 3-point range, while adding six rebounds, four assists and two steals in 43 minutes. Thomas finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks, converting 7 of 8 from the free-throw line in 42 minutes.

Hughes contributed 16 points, five rebounds and five assists. Senior forward Thomas Prendergast (Bayport, N.Y.) chipped in six points on 3-of-5 shooting to go with four rebounds and three assists.

Pratt generated 19 second-chance points and scored 38 points in the paint while finishing 9 of 27 (33.3%) from beyond the arc. The Bears owned a 56-39 advantage on the glass.

Munson paced St. Joseph's with a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds while dishing out eight assists. Jacob Idowu also recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Timothy Richardson added 15 points off the bench.

Pratt travels to Chestertown, Md., to face Washington College on Friday at 6 p.m. in the opening round of the Washington College Wild Goose Classic.