Boxscore

PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville men's basketball team got its 2010-11 Freedom Conference slate off to a rousing start on Wednesday evening, as the Valiants knocked off the second nationally ranked opponent in recent program history with a 67-55 victory over D3Hoops.com #24 DeSales University inside a packed Kennedy Gymnasium.

The Valiants, who were receiving votes in this week's D3Hoops.com Div. III National Poll, knocked off just the second nationally ranked program under head coach Pat Scanlon and the first since a 67-66 win over #9 William Paterson University on January 6, 2007.

Senior Lamar Glass (Dallas, Texas) led the way for Manhattanville in the victory, netting a game- and season-high 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while junior Trevoy Pointer (Dallas, Texas) had another excellent all-around game for the home team as well, flirting with a triple-double late before finishing up with 12 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Senior Jay Ferriere (Melbourne, Australia) also chipped in on the offensive end with 10 points and five assists.

The first half was a very closely contested affair, as the two teams combined for 10 lead changes and four ties over the opening 20 minutes of play. Neither team could build a lead of more than one possession for most of the half, with DeSales taking a three-point edge on two occasions midway through the frame. That last three-point lead came with 8:46 remaining in the half at 23-20, but after that the Valiant defense kicked into high gear for the rest of the stanza.

Manhattanville kept the Bulldogs off the scoreboard for the remainder of the half, while the home team rattled off 14 consecutive points to take a 34-23 lead into intermission. Glass had a team-high five points during the run, which was completed by a buzzer-beating three-pointer from junior Ivan Jovicic (Belgrade, Serbia). During the run, the Valiants held their opponents to 0-for-7 shooting from the field and forced seven turnovers to give the team a commanding lead at the half.

After 20 minutes, the Valiants shot 46.9 percent (15 of 32) from the floor, and held their 11-point edge thanks largely to taking 10 more shots than the Bulldogs. The home team also shot 44.4 percent (4 for 9) from beyond the arc.

A three-pointer by Glass on the first possession of the second half increased the Manhattanville lead to 14 points, but the 24th-ranked team in the country would not go quietly, putting together an 11-3 run that closed the deficit to just six at 43-37 with 14:01 remaining. The Valiant lead was still six almost four minutes later before a quick 7-0 spurt put the home team back in control, as layups by junior Glen Rodriguez (Ponce, Puerto Rico) and Glass bookended another long-range connection from Jovicic to give MVille a 57-44 lead with 6:07 left.

The home team's advantage grew to as many as 15 points on a pair of occasions after buckets by Rodriguez with 4:43 left and 2:53 remaining, and the Bulldogs did not provide any pressure down the stretch as the Valiants moved to 4-1 on their home court this season.

For the evening, Manhattanville shot 47.5 percent (29 of 61) from the field, including a 9-for-19 effort from three-point land that helped to counteract the fact that the Valiants did not make a free throw all night (0 for 2). DeSales shot 44.7 percent (21 for 47) from the floor, but the Bulldogs took 14 fewer attempts than their Valiant counterparts in suffering their first loss of the season.

Manhattanville (5-1, 1-0 Freedom) will go on the road for the first time in conference play this Saturday, as the Valiants take on King's (Pa.) College at 3 p.m. in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. DeSales (4-1, 1-0 Freedom) will host Delaware Valley College on Saturday at 3 p.m.