Boxscore

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Manhattanville men's basketball team was down by 14 points in the first half, then up by 12 in the second stanza, but in the end it was Wesleyan (Conn.) University outscoring the Valiants by five in overtime to pull out an 80-75 (OT) victory in Manhattanville's non-conference finale on Tuesday night at Silloway Gym.

In a game when both teams held double-digit leads but could not hold them, it was appropriate that the contest eventually came down to extra time in order to decide a winner. Both teams had chances to win the game at the end of regulation, but Shasha Brown's layup was off the mark for Wesleyan with seven seconds left and the jumper of junior Trevoy Pointer (Dallas, Texas/Skyline) could not fall as the horn sounded.

Brown started overtime with a jumper only to be matched by Pointer at the other end, knotting the score at 70 with 4:20 remaining. Wesleyan was able to build up a five-point lead at the midway point of overtime, but a jumper by Pointer and subsequent layup after a senior Jay Ferriere (Melbourne, Australia/Emerald Secondary) steal got the Valiants right back into it down one (76-75) with 1:22 left.

However, Brown nailed a big bucket with the shot clock winding down and, after a Valiant turnover, Brown sunk a pair of free throws to clinch the game for the home team.

Free throws were the saving grace for the Cardinals on Tuesday night, as the home team went 24 for 26 at the charity stripe to pull out the win, while Manhattanville shot just 6 of 13 from the line. For the game, the Valiants shot 46.9 percent (30 of 64) from the field compared to 40.7 percent (24 of 59) for Wesleyan.

Pointer rebounded from a tough effort on Saturday to lead all scorers with 24 points, which moved him within 12 points of becoming the 23rd player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. Pointer will have a chance to reach the milestone at home on Saturday, when Manhattanville (11-7, 3-4 Freedom) hosts the second annual Alumni Day and retires the number of former Valiant great Roger Dunphy '79 prior to a big Freedom Conference matchup with King's (Pa.) College starting at 3 p.m.

Senior Peter Mehmel (Queens, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) also had a nearly perfect day from the field as well, going for 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting and chipping in five rebounds and five assists. In addition, junior Ivan Jovicic (Belgrade, Serbia/Sports HS Belgrade) made the most of his first start of the year with a career-high 17 points in 33 minutes of action.

Brown led six Cardinals in double figures with 18 points and five assists, while Matt Hogan added 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the game's only double-double.

Tuesday's game was a matchup of big leads and bigger missed opportunities, as both teams held double-digit leads over the course of the night. The Valiants looked to be in big trouble late in the first half as the home team jumped out to a 14-point lead (37-23) with 5:09 remaining, but the visitors stormed back with a 14-0 run to tie the score at halftime. Mehmel had six points and Jovicic added five in the run, which tied the score at 37 after 20 minutes.

Manhattanville kept its amazing run going to begin the second half, scoring 14 of the first 16 points to extend its run to 31-2 and take a 12-point lead (51-39) with 14:01 remaining in the game. Mehmel again led the Valiant charge with six points during the run.

But Wesleyan had a response at last, as the Cardinals went on a 17-2 run to get right back into the game, down three (54-51) with seven and a half left on the clock. The Valiants built their lead back up to eight points on a pair of occasions on three pointers by Jovicic and senior Lamar Glass (Dallas, Texas/Skyline), but the visitors could not put away the home team and eventually let their fate be decided in overtime, where Brown's eight points proved to be the difference.