DALLAS, Pa. – Senior Anthony Maestre (Bronx, N.Y./Mount St. Michael Academy) and sophomore Alex Tuci (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) combined for 48 points on 18-of-24 shooting to lead the Manhattanville College men's basketball team to a key 87-77 victory over Misericordia University in MAC Freedom action on Saturday afternoon at the Anderson Center.
 
The tandem came up huge for Manhattanville (9-6, 2-2 MAC Freedom) in earning its second conference win of the year. Maestre led all scorers with 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting and an 8-of-10 effort from the line to go with five assists and two steals, while Tuci posted his second double-double of the year with a career-high 21 points (also on 9-of-12 shooting) and 10 rebounds.
 
Senior Andrew Winter (Queens, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) also earned the start and responded well with nine points, eight boards, three assists and two steals, while sophomore Dom Arena (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) also added chipped in nine points, four assists, four rebounds and a game-high three steals off the bench.
 
Jason Kenny led Misericordia (8-7, 2-2 MAC Freedom) with 20 points and Griffin Sponaugle added 17 points for the home team.
 
Manhattanville was down by as many as 12 points in the first half, but the Valiants ended the half on a 16-5 run led by seven points from Winter to get back within a point (37-36) at intermission.
 
Facing a one-point deficit at halftime, Manhattanville was red-hot from the field in the second half, hitting 19-of-31 shots (61.3 percent) overall and 5-of-11 from three-point land to outscore the Cougars by 11 after the break. A quick 7-0 run put Manhattanville ahead 45-41, with freshman Javin Barton (Queens, N.Y./St. Mary's) getting the visitors within one and Winter putting the team ahead for the final lead change of the afternoon.
 
The Valiants led 64-59 nearing the midway point of the half before clinching the game with a lightning-quick 17-0 run over less than three minutes to take an 81-59 lead with 7:46 left. Tuci started the run with a three-pointer and sophomore Brian Haggerty (Bayside, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) closed it with a three of his own, and in the middle Manhattanville hit 4-of-5 shots while Misericordia attempted only two shots overall.
 
Misericordia closed the game on an 18-6 run, but that was simply cosmetic as Manhattanville had the game wrapped up by then.
 
Thanks to its hot half, Manhattanville finished the game shooting 53.2 percent (33 of 62) from the field. The visitors also converted 11 Cougar turnovers into 19 points over the final 20 minutes, allowing the Valiants to move into a four-way tie for third place in the conference.
 
Manhattanville will return home to Kennedy Gym for its next two MAC Freedom matchups, beginning with a Wednesday night meeting versus Eastern University at 8 p.m.