NEW YORK, N.Y. – Junior Anthony Maestre (Bronx, N.Y./Mount St. Michael Academy) hit four free throws in a wild final five seconds on the way to a team-leading 11 points as Manhattanville College outlasted Hunter College by a 56-53 score in non-conference men's basketball action on Monday night at the Hunter Sportsplex.
 
Maestre was one of three Valiants to finish the game with 11 points along with classmate Darius Christmas (Hackensack, N.J./Paramus Catholic) and freshman Alex Tuci (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle). Maestre also added six assists, four rebounds and four steals in the win. Christmas' 11 points came on 5-of-6 shooting and are a new career high for the junior, while Tuci also added five rebounds for Manhattanville (3-4).
 
Brian Kruger scored a game-high 19 points for Hunter (3-4), followed by Lester Anim with 16 points and Robert Borusiewicz with a solid double-double of 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
 
In a game with 13 lead changes and five ties, it was appropriate that the final minutes provided plenty of drama. The second half saw a back-and-forth stretch that featured eight lead changes over a nine-minute span, capped by a pair of free throws from junior Juan Camacho (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/New Horizons) and a Maestre jumper that gave Manhattanville a 52-49 lead with 2:14 remaining.
 
Kruger got his team within one with a jumper with 1:45 on the clock and, following a missed shot, junior Andrew Winter (Queens, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) came up with a key steal to return possession to his squad up by one with 66 seconds remaining. After another missed opportunity, Hunter had a chance to win the game but the Valiant defense again came up big, this time with Maestre forcing a turnover with 10 seconds on the clock.
 
Manhattanville managed to take seven seconds off the clock before Maestre was fouled by Anim, but the situation changed drastically when Maestre was called for a technical foul. Kruger made two free throws to put his team ahead, but Maestre subsequently got his turn at the stripe and calmly sunk a pair to give the Valiants a 54-53 lead. After Maestre stole the ball again on Hunter's next possession, his two final free throws finally allowed the visitors to come away with the three-point win.
 
The Valiants used strong 13-of-24 shooting (54.2 percent) in the second half to finish the game at 47.8 percent (22 for 46), while Hunter ended the night shooting just 38.8 percent (19 for 49) from the field. The visitors also forced 14 second-half turnovers and turned them into 14 points at the other end to help pull out the win.
 
Despite going nearly eight minutes between buckets in the first half, Manhattanville was still only down four at 19-15 when Christmas finally ended the run with a jumper at the 4:41 mark of the half. Although Hunter attempted to extend its lead late in the frame, a layup by Camacho with 49 seconds left brought the Valiants within seven at 27-20 at the break.
 
Christmas was a spark off the bench for Manhattanville in the first half, hitting 3-of-4 shots from the field on the way to a team-high seven points. Kruger led all players with 11 points at the half thanks to 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc, followed by Borusiewicz with five points, five rebounds and four steals.
 
Manhattanville shot 40.9 percent (9 for 22) and held Hunter to 34.6 percent (9 for 26), but the Valiants had their offensive chances limited by 12 turnovers.
 
A three from senior Connor Quigley (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) got the second half started right for Manhattanville, followed by a Maestre trifecta that got the squad back within a possession at 30-27 with 15:28 left. After an Anim layup, the Valiants then went on a 10-2 run to grab a 37-34 lead with 12:08 left and set the stage for a dramatic final few minutes.
 
Winners of two in a row for the first time this season, Manhattanville will look to carry that momentum into its 2014-15 Freedom Conference opener on Wednesday, when the Valiants host defending champion DeSales at Kennedy Gym beginning at 8 p.m.