Box Score PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville men's basketball team dropped a 67-41 decision to Misericordia on Senior Day in its quest to earn a home postseason game, but the season is not over yet as the Valiants will still be headed to the Freedom Conference Tournament for the first time in five years as the fourth seed.
Manhattanville (11-14, 7-7 Freedom), which could have earned the second seed with a win on Saturday, instead finished the year in a three-way tie for fourth place with King's (Pa.) and Delaware Valley, the latter of which dropped a 78-76 (OT) decision to FDU-Florham that allowed the Valiants to sneak into the postseason via a tiebreaker. The Valiants, Monarchs and Aggies all finished 2-2 against each other during the regular season, and Manhattanville's win over DeSales eliminated Del Val from the tiebreaker while its victory over second-place Misericordia earlier in the year put the team past King's.
As a result, Manhattanville will travel to top-seeded DeSales for the semifinals of the Freedom Conference Tournament on Wednesday, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. from Center Valley, Pa.
The drama of the FDU-Delaware Valley finish was much more excitement than the Valiants could muster against Misericordia on Saturday, as Manhattanville trailed by double digits for most of the second half and struggled mightily shooting the ball against the Cougars. The home team hit on just 6 of 26 shots (23.1 percent) over the final 20 minutes, including going the final 5:55 of regulation without a bucket.
Senior
Jack Bramswig (Pleasantville, N.Y./Pleasantville) had the game's lone double-double for Manhattanville on Senior Day, scoring a game-high 14 points and adding 12 rebounds. But no other Valiant had more than seven points on the game, as the Valiants shot just 32.1 percent (17 of 53) from the field and 3 of 18 from beyond the arc.
Steve Ware had 14 points to lead Misericordia, followed by Matt Greene with 12 points and Erik Kerns with 11.
The Valiants will look to shake off the rough outing come postseason time. Manhattanville and DeSales split their two regular-season matchups, with each team winning on the opposition's home floor. Check out a full preview of the Freedom Conference semifinals coming early next week on GoValiants.com.
