DALLAS, Pa. – The Manhattanville College men's basketball team wrapped up its 2014-15 season on Saturday afternoon, dropping a 76-48 decision to Freedom Conference frontrunner Misericordia University at the Anderson Center.
 
Misericordia (19-6, 11-3 Freedom) secured the top seed in next week's Freedom Conference Tournament with the victory. Manhattanville (8-17, 4-10 Freedom) has its season come to a close with a seventh-place finish in the conference standings.
 
Junior Anthony Maestre (Bronx, N.Y./Mount St. Michael Academy) led the Valiants with 10 points on the afternoon and also chipped in four rebounds and two assists. With a season still to go, Maestre already ranks 20th in program history with 1,159 career points and also sits top-15 in career three-pointers (141, third),  steals (141, eighth) and assists (235, 14th).
 
Junior Andrew Winter (Queens, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) added nine points and classmate Juan Camacho (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/New Horizons) chipped in six points and a team-best five rebounds as well for the visitors.
 
Steve Ware paced the Cougars with the game's only double-double, netting 16 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, while Joe Busacca added a game-high 18 points for the home team.
 
Manhattanville held an early 4-3 lead after a pair of layups from Winter countered a Busacca three-pointer, but the tide quickly turned Misericordia's way thanks to a 21-3 run that put the Cougars up 25-7 with 8:44 left in the opening half. The Valiants stayed within range for the remainder of the frame, getting the deficit down to 13 at 36-23 following a jumper from senior Wills Flynn (Miami, Fla./Westminster Christian) that provided the final points of the first half.
 
However, Misericordia started the second half by going on a 13-2 run that helped to put the game away early.
 
Misericordia shot 48.3 percent (29 of 60) from the field in the win, while Manhattanville was limited to just 32.8 percent (20 for 61) shooting from the field and a 3-of-19 effort (15.8 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
Saturday's game is the final collegiate contest for Valiant seniors Flynn, Sean Sampson (Brooklyn, N.Y./Kent School) and Niko Emanuilidis (Pleasantville, N.Y./Pleasantville). Manhattanville is set to return its top-four scorers from this season and six of its top-seven in 2015-16 as the Valiants will make another attempt at returning to the top of the Freedom Conference.