PURCHASE, N.Y. – Keystone College ended the game on a 19-4 run to erase a 14-point deficit in the final 6:52 and deal Manhattanville College a tough 80-79 defeat in non-conference men's basketball action on Sunday afternoon at Kennedy Gymnasium.
The difficult ending tarnished career-best performances from multiple Valiants. Junior
Alex Tuci (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) led all players with a career-high 22 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double in as many appearances this season, while classmate
Brian Haggerty (Bayside, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) also set new career standards with 18 points and nine rebounds to go with three assists and two blocks in an excellent all-around effort.
Manhattanville (2-2) looked to be in fine position after a pair of Tuci free throws gave the Valiants a seemingly commanding 75-61 lead with 6:53 left on the clock. However, the Giants made a gigantic comeback, scoring the next 15 points to take a 76-75 lead with 3:12 remaining on a Devin Williams three-pointer.
Senior
Charles Nardone (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) stemmed the tide with a pair of free throws and a Haggerty freebie put the home team back up 78-76 with 1:18 on the clock. But Perry Belcher came up with a huge putback to tie the score at 78 and, after Manhattanville missed a chance to take back the lead, Williams hit a layup with 10 seconds left to give Keystone an 80-78 lead.
The Valiants' luck seemed to be up after a three-pointer was blocked out of bounds with less than two seconds remaining, but Manhattanville got one more shot after Tuci was fouled going up for a potential game-tying shot at the buzzer. However, the first free throw rimmed out and the second could only make it a one-point game.
Manhattanville went 0-for-5 from the field and turned the ball over three times over the final seven minutes to allow for the Keystone comeback, and hit only 8-of-24 attempts in the second half on the way to finishing the game at 41.8 percent (23 of 55) from the field. Keystone took 16 more shots than the Valiants on the afternoon, finishing at 40.8 percent (29 of 71), and also boasted a big 19-8 edge in second-chance points that helped decide the winner.
The Valiants will look to shake off the loss on Tuesday night, when the team makes the short trip down the street to battle Purchase College in the Battle of Anderson Hill Road beginning at 7 p.m.
