MADISON, N.J. – Led by 14 second-half points from junior Anthony Maestre (Bronx, N.Y./Mount St. Michael Academy), the Manhattanville men's basketball team mounted a huge second-half comeback to overcome a 21-point deficit and pull out an 80-76 victory over FDU-Florham in Freedom Conference action on Wednesday night at the Ferguson Recreation Center.
 
Maestre had a big second half for Manhattanville (7-15, 3-8 Freedom), scoring 14 of his 18 points over the final 20 minutes, while classmate Juan Camacho (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/New Horizons) scored a game-high 19 points on 9-of-16 shooting and added eight rebounds. Freshmen Dom Arena (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) and Victor Troya (Miami, Fla./Miami Springs Senior) both played big roles in the win as well, as Arena netted a season-high 17 points and Troya just missed a double-double with nine points and a game-high 11 boards.
 
Steve Herdman led FDU-Florham (1-21, 0-11 Freedom) with 19 points of his own, followed by Donte Ali with a solid all-around line of 14 points, seven rebounds, six assists, six steals and four blocks.
 
After FDU-Florham built up a 44-23 lead late in the first half, Manhattanville went on a 17-3 run spanning both sides of halftime, quickly getting the deficit down to seven (47-40) on a pair of Troya free throws 2:19 into the second stanza. In all, the Valiants scored 13 of the first 15 points of the second half, getting the deficit all the way down to four (50-46) less than five minutes into the stanza.
 
Back-to-back buckets by freshman Brian Haggerty (Bayside, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) and senior Wills Flynn (Miami, Fla./Westminster Christian) later in the half made it a one-possession game, and a free throw and layup from Troya gave Manhattanville its first lead of the night at 55-54 with 9:28 remaining.
 
Although FDU took the lead back on the next possession and held it for the next five-plus minutes, consecutive three-pointers from Maestre and Arena made it a one-point game and Troya followed with another bucket to put the Valiants ahead by a 69-68 score with 3:16 on the clock.
 
FDU's Michael Barber answered with a three, but Camacho and Maestre followed with back-to-back baskets to give the Valiants a 73-71 lead with 2:01 left. Following a Tymiak Hawkins three that again put the home team ahead, Camacho came up with a big bucket at the other end to put the Valiants up 75-74 with less than a minute remaining.
 
After a foul on the next possession, Kevin Furlong hit two free throws to again put the Devils up, 76-74, with the shot clock turned off. After a timeout, Maestre drove the lane and drew contact, getting him two shots at the line with 14 seconds left. The junior sunk both attempts to give Manhattanville back the lead at 77-76.
 
Furlong drove to the basket at the other end and drew a lot of contact, but no foul was called and the Valiants got the ball back with less than seven seconds left. Maestre was fouled and one of the conference's best free-throw shooters again sank both to give his team a three-point edge, helping the visitors escape with the victory.
 
Manhattanville finished the night shooting 50.8 percent (30 of 59) from the field, including a 7-of-17 (41.2 percent) mark from beyond the arc, and also hit 13 of 17 free throws. FDU-Florham shot 47.5 percent (29 for 61) from the field for the evening.

Despite the win, Manhattanville is eliminated from postseason contention due to King's (Pa.) College's win over Eastern University tonight. FDU-Florham remains in last place in the conference with its 19th straight defeat.
 
The Valiants will play their final home game of 2014-15 on Saturday, as the squad honors its three graduating seniors with Senior Day at Kennedy Gym before taking on Eastern beginning at 3 p.m.