NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College men's basketball team kicked off the 2015 calendar year on Friday afternoon at the NYU Holiday Classic, dropping a 76-63 decision to Bridgewater State University in non-conference action at the Coles Sports Center.
 
Junior Juan Camacho (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/New Horizons) led all scorers for Manhattanville (4-6) with a game-high 15 points, and he was joined in double figures by freshman Timmy McCauley (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas), who scored 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting in 14 minutes off the bench in his collegiate debut. Junior Andrew Winter (Queens, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) also chipped in game-highs of 10 rebounds and four assists for the Valiants.
 
Bridgewater State (6-3) had five players in double figures on the afternoon, led by Tyler DeMelo with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting and Kyle Gibson with 11 points and nine rebounds. Justin Clark also added 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals as well for the Bears.
 
With Bridgewater holding a slight 10-8 lead 5:10 into the game, the Bears went on an 18-3 run over the next 7:30 to take control of the contest. Greg Romanko had eight points for the squad during the pivotal run, starting the stretch with a pair of free throws and closing it with a three-pointer that made it 28-11 with 7:20 left.
 
The Valiants outscored their opposition by a 13-9 margin the rest of the way, but BSU still took a 37-24 lead into the half. Camacho had 11 of his team's 24 points at the break to keep the squad in the contest.
 
Bridgewater didn't let Manhattanville back in the game during the second half thanks to 53.6 percent shooting (15 of 28) from the field over the final 20 minutes. Manhattanville hit 41.0 percent of its shots in the second half, but suffered through 1-of-11 (9.1 percent) shooting from beyond the arc.
 
The Valiants finished the game shooting 39.1 percent (27 for 69) from the field, including a tough 2-of-16 (12.5 percent) from beyond the arc. Bridgewater State hit 29 of 58 (50.0 percent) from the field and 8 of 18 (44.4 percent) from three-point land.
 
Manhattanville will return to action tomorrow on day two of the NYU Holiday Classic, when the Valiants take on Gettysburg College beginning at noon.