Box Score PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville men's basketball team came close but could never completely overcome a 14-point second-half deficit in suffering a 72-69 defeat at the hands of Wesleyan in a non-conference meeting on Tuesday night at Kennedy Gymnasium.
The loss obscured a breakout effort from sophomore forward Jack Bramswig (Pleasantville, N.Y./Pleasantville), who recorded the first double-double of his career with a career-high 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting and 10 rebounds. The sophomore also added three blocks and two steals in 34 minutes of action. Senior Trevoy Pointer (Dallas, Texas/Skyline) added 15 points and sophomore Colin Campbell (Miami, Fla./LaSalle) added 13 points as well for Manhattanville.
Shasha Brown led Wesleyan to the win with a team-leading 21 points and four steals, including 13 of his points coming in the second half. Fellow guard Derick Beresford added 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting and Jason Mendell chipped in 10 as well for the visitors.
Things did not look good for the Valiants with 6:17 remaining, when a Matt Hogan layup put the Cardinals up by 12 at 63-51. But three straight three-point plays – a trifecta from Campbell and traditional and-ones from Pointer and Bramswig – quickly cut the Valiant deficit to just three with 3:55 left on the clock.
The teams traded baskets for the next few minutes, but the Valiants were forced to foul in the 30 seconds and Brown made a pair of free throws to give the Cardinals a 71-66 lead with 27 seconds remaining. Senior Jeff Ventura (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Cypress Bay) then came down and nailed a big three-pointer to get the home team back within two, but Manhattanville missed a chance to rebound a missed free throw by Beresford and Brown eventually hit one of two from the line with nine seconds left.
Nevertheless, the Valiants still had a chance to tie the score in the waning seconds, but a desperation three from Pointer hit off the back iron and allowed the Wesleyan to escape with the victory.
The teams both shot the ball well on the night, as Manhattanville finished the evening at 50.0 percent (26 for 52) while Wesleyan came in just behind at 49.2 percent (28 for 57). Much of difference came from turnovers: the Cardinals were able to convert 17 Valiant miscues into 18 points, but the Valiants earned just seven points off 13 Wesleyan giveaways.
Manhattanville (2-5) will return to action on Thursday night, as the Valiants travel into the city to take on Baruch beginning at 7 p.m. Wesleyan (7-1) will host Westfield State on Thursday also at 7 p.m.
