PURCHASE, N.Y. – Freshman Willie Britton (Queens, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) led all scorers with a career-high 25 points to pace Manhattanville College in a hard-fought 80-70 victory over King's (Pa.) College in a contentious MAC Freedom matchup on Saturday afternoon at Kennedy Gymnasium.
 
Britton came up huge for Manhattanville (10-7, 3-3 MAC Freedom) in the victory, hitting 8-of-12 shots from the field and 7-of-11 attempts from the free-throw line. He also led the Valiants with six assists and five steals as well in his 32 minutes of action, pacing a Valiant bench that outscored their King's counterparts by a 48-15 margin.
 
Sophomore Alex Tuci (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) had 14 points and six rebounds while batting foul trouble, and classmate Brian Haggerty (Bayside, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) had a nice game off the bench with 12 points, four boards and a game-high three blocks for the home team. Fellow sophomore Dom Arena (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) also added eight points and a team-high seven rebounds.
 
Manhattanville as a team shot 51.9 percent (27 of 52) from the field on the afternoon, and got to the free-throw line a season-high 34 times while making 20. The team also had a great game in transition, possessing a massive 22-2 edge in fast-break points.
 
King's (8-9, 2-4 MAC Freedom) jumped to a 14-5 lead early in the contest, holding a lead for much 10 minutes. But Tuci sunk a three to get the home team within one and an Arena layup put Manhattanville ahead 21-20. Those five points started a 24-4 run over the final 10 minutes of the half, as the Valiants held King's to 2-of-17 shooting and forced six turnovers. Three Valiants – Britton, Tuci and senior Anthony Maestre (Bronx, N.Y./Mount St. Michael Academy) – single-handedly outscored King's during the run, which gave Manhattanville a 40-24 lead at the half after Maestre's triple just before the buzzer
 
After the two teams traded mini-runs to start the second half, King's made one last effort to get back into the contest with a 16-7 run that made it a 54-49 Valiant lead with 8:31 left. However, Britton came right back with a three and then two free throws to get the lead back to double figures. King's never got back within eight the rest of the way, as the Valiant bench – led by nine of Haggerty's points – helped the team hit 7-of-9 field-goal attempts down the stretch.
 
Manhattanville will return to action on Wednesday, as the team looks to win its second straight MAC Freedom matchup when it travels to FDU-Florham for an 8 p.m. tipoff.