CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – The Manhattanville College men's basketball team fell behind early and could never fully complete the comeback, eventually suffering a 75-70 defeat at the hands of DeSales University in both teams' 2015-16 MAC Freedom opener on Wednesday night at Billera Hall.
 
Senior Anthony Maestre (Bronx, N.Y./Mount St. Michael Academy) overcame a tough first half to lead all scorers with 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting, as one of four Valiants in double figures. Sophomore Alex Tuci (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) had a good overall game with a career-high 16 points and six rebounds, while junior Charles Nardone (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) just missed a double-double with 11 points and a game- and career-high nine caroms for Manhattanville (4-4, 0-1 MAC Freedom).
 
DeSales (4-2, 1-0 MAC Freedom) also had four players finish in double figures, led by 15 points apiece from Cody Deal and Ryan Callahan, while Kuity Slanger chipped in 11 points, seven assists and six boards.
 
The first half was a back-and-forth struggle between the two squads, featuring 13 lead changes and one tie over the first 20 minutes. Manhattanville did not lead by more than two points in the half, but more importantly did not let DeSales get out to a big lead as well. The largest lead for either side came on a Connor Jones three that put DeSales up 32-26 with 1:31 on the clock, but Tuci responded with a three-pointer and then a steal-and-score on the next possession to get the Valiants back within one at 32-31 at the intermission.
 
Tuci had a very strong first half to lead the Valiants, hitting 3 of 4 attempts from beyond the arc on the way to a game-high 11 points to go with four boards, two assists, two steals and a block. Classmate Dom Arena (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) also went 3 for 3 from the field to finish with seven points at the intermission, as Manhattanville shot 41.4 percent (12 of 29) from the field and an even 50.0 percent (7 of 14) from three-point land.             
 
DeSales came out strong to start the second half, growing its lead to as many as 11 points thanks to an 11-2 run that put the Bulldogs ahead 49-38. The Valiant deficit was still 11 before Manhattanville came back with nine straight points, led by two Arena jumpers and a three from senior Juan Camacho (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/New Horizons) that got the visitors back within two at 51-49 at the midway point of the half. However, another 9-0 run – this time by the home team – put DeSales back up 11 at 60-49 with 8:00 remaining.
 
But yet again Manhattanville had an answer in the form of Maestre, who got the visitors back in the game with another run for the visitors, scoring seven points of an 11-0 stretch that finished with a steal and score from Nardone to tie the score at 60 with five minutes left in the game.
 
A three-point play from Callahan on the next possession put the Bulldogs back up, and Manhattanville was never able to get even the rest of the way. The Valiants got back within two with 1:31 on the clock following a Maestre jumper, but a key layup by Brandon Bridy put DeSales back up by four soon after and the home team went 6-of-8 from the line down the stretch to seal the win.
 
Manhattanville finished the night shooting 40.0 percent (26 of 65) from the field, including a 38.5 percent (10 of 26) mark from beyond the arc. DeSales connected at a 39.0 percent (23 of 59) clip from the field, but was helped by a 24-11 edge in free-throw attempts as well as excellent 21-of-24 shooting (87.5 percent) from the line.
 
Manhattanville will complete the early-season portion of MAC Freedom play on Saturday, when the Valiants host Wilkes University at Kennedy Gym beginning at 3 p.m.