PURCHASE, N.Y. – Senior Peter Mehmel (Queens, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) finished with his second double-double of the season scoring 11 points with 10 rebounds as the Manhattanville men's basketball team score 39 points in the second half to defeat FDU-Florham, 61-44, in a Freedom Conference matchup at Kennedy Gym on Thursday night.

Junior guard Trevoy Pointer (Dallas, Texas/Skyline) scored in double figures for the 13th time this season as he finished with 11 points to go with six rebounds, six assists and four steals. Off the bench, junior Jeff Ventura (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Cypress Bay) finished with eight points in 15 minutes on the court.

Both teams struggled in the first half, as each team held their opposition to under 30 percent from the field and forced double digit turnovers. The Valiants led after the first 20 minutes of the contest, 22-19 and shot 29 percent. The Devils committed 13 turnovers in the first half and were outrebounded 23-19 on the glass, with the Valiants grabbing 10 on the offensive side. Mehmel led the team with eight boards at the intermission, and neither squad had a player score more than five points. Junior Felipe Vargas (Miami, Fla./Miami Christian) was the only Valiants with five points in the half, as he sank the only three-point basket on the home side.

The second half picked up early as the Valiants began the half on a 14-0 run that allowed them to take a 36-22 edge with 16:22 remaining on a layup by Pointer.  Ventura pushed the lead up to 19 as he nailed a three pointer with 13:38 remaining, as the Valiants didn't let up in the second half to secure the victory. With 7:23 remaining in the contest, junior Glen Rodriguez (Ponce, Puerto Rico/Miami (Fla.) LaSalle) gave the team a 20-point cushion with a jumper and converted on the old-fashion three-point play.

Ricky Fetske led the Devils with 10 points and six rebounds, and Adam Katz contributed with nine points.

Manhattanville (11-3, 3-1 Freedom) will travel to Misericordia for a 3 p.m. meeting with the Cougars on Saturday afternoon. The live audio broadcast on WMVL 88.1 FM and GoValiants.com will begin right after the completion of the women's contest around 2:45 p.m. FDU-Florham (3-10, 1-3 Freedom) will take on DeSales on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Center Valley, Pa.