Regular Season and Tournament Champions of the Skyline Conference, the Valiants garnered several much-deserved accolades from the league today as Head Coach Pat Scanlon and his assistants were named the league’s Coaching Staff of the Year, junior Donte Chisolm (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, and Chisolm, Cody Moffett (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and John DiBetta (Valhalla, N.Y.) all earned All-Conference honors.

At 13-3 in the Skyline and 23-5 overall, the Valiants are headed to their first NCAA Tournament in 28 years this weekend after winning the first Skyline Regular Season and Tournament championships in program history. Still, no Valiant was named to the All-Conference First Team, a testament to the group’s ego-free offense and strong team concept.

“I’m glad to see three of our guys get honored for the season’s they had, they are all very deserving of it,” Scanlon said. “And I think Brian Fink (Queens, N.Y.) also had an All-Conference type season.”

Chisolm, the 2004-05 Skyline Rookie of the Year, earned All-Conference honors for the third straight season along with his Defensive Player of the Year award. The junior guard placed on the Second Team for the second straight season thanks to another spectacular all-around year. Manhattanville’s best defender, Chisolm finished second in the Skyline in steals at 2.4 per game and led the league in assists with a 5.9 per game average. As of the most recent NCAA rankings, the junior point guard was 22nd in the nation in assists per game and in the top 50 in steals per game. In the semifinals of the Skyline Conference Tournament, Chisolm also picked up his 500th career assist, joining Mark Fava as only the second player in school history with at least 500 career assists.

“I think Donte’s really emerged as one of the best players in all of Division III because he’s such a good all-around player,” Scanlon said. “He did a great job on both ends and he’s a terrific catalyst for us. He’s great guarding the basketball, great at getting into passing lanes and he’s a terrific rebounder for his size.”

Moffett, in his second season with the Valiants after playing one year at Division I Iona, was the team’s leading scorer and rebounder and joined Chisolm on the All-Conference Second Team. Consistently strong on the offensive end, Moffett scored in double-figures in 19 of 28 games this season, averaging 13.9 points and 6.0 rebounds. A 55.3% shooter from the field, fifth in the conference, the 6’3” Moffett excelled in Manhattanville’s five-guard starting lineup despite frequently guarding much bigger opponents.

“Cody really stepped up his game this season,” Scanlon said. “We were expecting big things out of him going into the season and he delivered with a terrific, consistent season. He has the ability on any given night to be one of the best players around.”

Manhattanville’s senior captain, DiBetta earned his first career All-Skyline commendation after another standout season. Named the Most Valuable Player of the Skyline Conference Tournament, DiBetta earned Honorable Mention honors from the league after a third straight season averaging in double-figures scoring. The only senior in Manhattanville’s starting five, DiBetta surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his career January 20 and currently sits 14th all-time with 1,172 points. A walk-on as a freshman, DiBetta averaged 13.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals this year.

“John is the epitome of somebody who gets what he deserves,” Scanlon said. “There is no one who works harder than John and for him to get something like this in his senior year is terrific because it’s something he’s worked very hard for throughout his career.”

Scanlon, who just four years ago was a 1,000-point scorer himself for the Valiants, joined assistants Ed Powell, Jason Hasson and Leif Gagliardi, along with Student Assistant Gianni Fugazy, as a member of the Skyline’s Coaching Staff of the Year. In just three seasons at the helm of the Valiant program, Scanlon has a career record of 58-27 and has the team on the verge of perhaps their first NCAA Tournament win in school history. Aside from the first ever Skyline titles in program history, Scanlon and the staff have also led this year’s team to the winningest season in program history (23 wins) and two of the longest winning streaks in school history, an eight-game streak from November 18-December 19 and their current nine-game winning streak (the longest winning streak in program history is 10).

“I’m glad the award is called Coaching Staff of the Year, because I think the rest of the staff does an unbelievable job and they make my life a lot easier,” Scanlon said. “And I’m honored that the rest of the coaches in the league saw fit to give us this award.”

The team’s stellar play this year has not only drawn raves from the athletic department but also from region fans and Manhattanville students who made Saturday’s Skyline Championship Game a record sell-out crowd that left fans lining the court and huddled in the arena lobby trying to get a peek inside.

“I’m very proud of Pat, one of our alums, and the student-athletes on their year so far,” Manhattanville President Richard A. Berman said. “They have not only been successes on the court but in the classroom as well where the team has a cumulative grade point average of better than 3.0.”

The Valiants (23-5, 13-3 Skyline) will play their first NCAA Tournament game in 28 years Friday, March 2 against Guilford (N.C.) in Baltimore, Md. on the campus of Johns Hopkins at 6:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on www.GoValiants.com beginning at 5:45 p.m. and fan, student and alumni gatherings in Baltimore are being organized.

RELATED LINKS
Skyline Awards
NCAA Tournament Bracket
Season Stats
Skyline Men's Basketball
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