WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Williams College overcome a sluggish start to outscore Manhattanville College by 13 points in the second half and secure a 70-58 victory over the Valiants in non-conference action on day one of the Williams Invitational on Friday evening at Chandler Gymnasium.
 
Senior Charles Nardone (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) led Manhattanville (1-1) in scoring for the second straight game, netting 19 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Junior Alex Tuci (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) recorded a second straight double-double with 18 points and a game-high 12 boards, while sophomore Willie Britton (Queens, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) reached double figures for the second game in a row as well with 10 points off the bench.
 
Tuci was nearly perfect for the Valiants in the first half, hitting 5-of-6 shots from the field and 3-of-4 attempts from beyond the arc on the way to 13 points in the first 20 minutes. Nardone chipped in eight points and both Britton and junior Brian Haggerty (Bayside, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) netted five apiece in the opening frame.
 
The visitors started the game with three straight buckets, as a Nardone layup was followed by back-to-back three from Tuci and Haggerty to put Manhattanville up 8-0 after 98 seconds. The Valiants went seven minutes without a point midway through the stanza, but the defense limited the Ephs to only a pair of threes to keep the advantage at four (20-16).
 
Manhattanville built its lead back up to as many as 10 points on a Tuci layup with 3:47 left that made the score 29-19, but an 11-2 Williams run put the Valiants up by just one at 31-30 headed into the half. The Valiants shot 46.4 percent (13 of 28) from the field in the half and 4 of 9 from downtown in the opening half, while Williams hit just two of its 18 three-point attempts.
 
After a Nardone layup put the visitors back up by three early in the second half, Williams turned the tide with a 19-5 run that gave the home team control of the game. Daniel Aronowitz had seven of his game-high 23 points during the run, which put the score at 49-38 with 11:06 remaining. A subsequent 13-5 run gave Williams its biggest lead of the night at 62-43 with 6:17 to go, and the home team cruised the rest of the way.
 
Manhattanville had the better shooting percentage on the night, hitting 40.7 percent (22 of 54) from the field compared to Williams' 38.1 percent (24 of 63).
 
The Valiants will take on Framingham State University, 57-55 losers to Maine Maritime Academy in today's second game, in the consolation game of the Williams Invitational tomorrow at 2 p.m.