PURCHASE, N.Y. – For the first time since 2009, the Manhattanville men's basketball team is back in the Freedom Conference Tournament, as the fourth-seeded Valiants will travel to top-seeded DeSales for the Freedom Conference semifinals on Wednesday night.
 
Manhattanville (11-14, 7-7 Freedom) needed some help to reach the postseason, as the Valiants finished in a three-way tie for the fourth and final spot despite Saturday's 67-41 loss to Misericordia but earned the tiebreaker over both Delaware Valley and King's (Pa.) thanks to wins earlier in the season against both DeSales and Misericordia. DeSales (16-9, 10-4 Freedom) took first place during the regular season and had the top seed locked up before Saturday's 78-70 loss at Eastern.
 
Second-seeded Misericordia (15-10, 9-5 Freedom) and third-seeded FDU-Florham (13-12, 8-6 Freedom) will meet in Wednesday's other semifinal, with the two winners meeting in the Freedom Conference championship game on Saturday at the home of the highest remaining seed.
 
Manhattanville and DeSales split the season series this year, with both teams winning on the opposition's home court. The Valiants shot 55.1 percent from the field in a 72-59 victory over the Bulldogs in Center Valley on January 29, but DeSales exacted some revenge on Manhattanville at Kennedy Gym on February 12 with an 87-78 victory.
 
The Valiants are making their first appearance in the Freedom Conference Tournament in the last five seasons and their third overall since joining the conference in 2007. Manhattanville is 1-2 overall in Freedom Conference Tournament play, including a 72-58 loss to DeSales in the 2008 Freedom Conference championship game. Dating back to the team's time in the Skyline Conference, Manhattanville is 16-11 all-time in conference tournament games, including six conference championship game appearances and the 2007 Skyline Conference Tournament championship.
 
Offensively, Manhattanville will continue to rely heavily on the trio of sophomore Anthony Maestre (Bronx, N.Y./Mount St. Michael Academy) and seniors Jack Bramswig (Pleasantville, N.Y./Pleasantville) and Colin Campbell (Miami, Fla./LaSalle) this year. Maestre and Bramswig are tied for fifth in the conference by averaging 15.6 points per game, followed by Campbell at 12.3 ppg. Bramswig is also near the top of multiple other conference rankings, placing second in steals (55), blocks (39) and field goal percentage (52.7 percent), as well as third in rebounding (8.2 rpg). Campbell and Maestre both rank in the top-seven in the conference in assists and steals as well, with Campbell dishing out a team-best 81 assists (4th Freedom) and Maestre posting 44 steals (4th Freedom).
 
The Valiants rank third in the conference by shooting 44.1 percent from the field, and will need to shoot the ball well to counteract a DeSales squad that leads the conference both by hitting 45.2 percent of its shots from the field and by keeping its opponents to 41.7 percent shooting at the other end of the court. One area that might help the Valiants on defense is the team's propensity for steals, as the team ranks second in the conference by averaging 9.0 swipes per game while DeSales is last in the conference in that category.
 
DeSales has a little more balance on the offensive end, with only Mike Coleman and Kyle Hash averaging in double figures this season. Coleman is seventh in the conference by averaging 15.1 points per game, followed by Hash at 13.0 ppg. The squad also boasts two of the top-four long-range shooters in the conference in Brian Laird (44.4 percent) and Cody Deal (40.8 percent), who will look to get free against Manhattanville's top-ranked three-point defense.
 
Game time on Wednesday is set for 7 p.m. at Billera Hall in Center Valley, Pa. For those making the trip west, ticket prices are $6.00 for adults, $4.00 for seniors, $2.00 for students and free for children under the age of six. If you can't make the trip, fans can watch the game live on http://www.desalesathletics.tv or follow the live stats at http://www.sidearmstats.com/desales/mbball.