Box Score HARTFORD, Conn. – Trinity (Conn.) dominated the paint to the tune of a 53-22 edge in rebounds and a 34-10 advantage in points in the paint as the Manhattanville men's basketball team started 2014 on the wrong end of a 74-65 score in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon at Oosting Gymnasium.

Sophomore Anthony Maestre (Bronx, N.Y./Mount St. Michael Academy) exploded for 21 points in the second half on the way to a game-high 28 points, but he was the only Valiant with more than 10 points on a day in which five Bantams reached double figures. Junior Connor Quigley (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) chipped in all 10 of his points in the first half, while senior Jack Bramswig (Pleasantville, N.Y./Pleasantville) added seven points and nine rebounds.

Shay Ajayi led the balanced Trinity attack with 17 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Alexander Conaway with 12 points and 12 boards. Edward Ogundeko also contributed 10 points and nine rebounds, as the home team's 20 offensive rebounds were nearly as many as the visitors had on both ends of the court.

Manhattanville never led in the first half, even though the Valiants kept the contest close throughout. The game was tied for the third time at 17-all following a steal by senior Colin Campbell (Miami, Fla./LaSalle) and a subsequent fast-break layup by sophomore Juan Camacho (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/New Horizons), and then Quigley started to heat up, scoring 10 of the team's last 18 points to keep the squad in the game. His three-pointer with six seconds left was the squad's four straight from beyond the arc and made it a 35-34 score at the intermission.

The Valiants knotted the score again twice more to start the second half, coming first on a Bramswig free throw and then on a Maestre jumper that made it 37-37 with 16:30 remaining. But Trinity followed up with a 12-0 run over the next 4:20 that gave the Bantams a 49-37 lead, helped by five points from Conaway and four from Ajayi.

The Bantam lead was still 12 with 9:10 left on the clock before Manhattanville made a strong comeback attempt, scoring 12 of the next 14 points to get back within a single possession at 55-53 with 6:36 remaining. Maestre had 11 of those points for the Valiants, sinking all four free throws to go with a pair of jumpers and a three-pointer.

The deficit got back down to two again with 4:49 left after a Bramswig free throw made it 60-58, but Trinity outscored Manhattanville 14-7 down the stretch to pull out the victory.

Manhattanville took excellent care of the ball on the afternoon, turning it over a mere five times in 40 minutes, but the Valiants shot just 35.2 percent (19 of 54) from the field. Trinity shot 43.6 percent (24 for 55) from the floor, helped by a 21-7 edge in second-chance points.

Manhattanville (5-6) will continue non-conference play on Tuesday night with a 7 p.m. matchup at SUNY Potsdam.