HARTFORD, Conn. – Manhattanville College shot 60.0 percent from the field and saw five players reach double figures as the Valiant men's basketball team took down Saint Joseph's (L.I.) College, 82-69, in the consolation game of the 2016 Trinity (Conn.) College Holiday Invitational, held on Saturday afternoon at Ray Oosting Gymnasium.
Manhattanville (4-7) had its best offensive output of the season in the victory, as the Valiants connected on 33 of 55 attempts from the field and also shot 7-of-17 (41.2 percent) from long range. The shooting percentage is the highest for a Valiant side since hitting on exactly 33 of 55 shots in a 95-80 win over Lancaster Bible College on November 16, 2013.
Junior
Alex Tuci (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) had another good game despite battling foul trouble, netting a team-high 17 points and grabbing a team-leading 13 rebounds in only 29 minutes of action. Classmate
Dom Arena (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) also picked up his first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 11 assists, the most helpers by a Valiant since
Jay Ferriere '11 dropped 13 dimes against Delaware Valley College on January 3, 2009.
Freshman
JoJo Cobbs (Elmsford, N.Y./Briarcliff) had his best game of the season with 16 points, hitting 6-of-8 shots from the field and 3-of-5 attempts from beyond the arc, while classmate
Dwayne Frazier (Miami, Fla./The Sagemont School) missed only once on seven field-goal attempts to finish with 12 points in only 16 minutes. Junior
Timmy Quinlan (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's Boys) also chipped in 10 points, while classmate
Brian Haggerty (Bayside, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) came one point short of joining the double-digit club but also added seven rebounds and four assists as well.
The first half was a back-and-forth struggle, with both teams shooting near 50 percent from the floor. Tuci had nine points and nine boards by himself over the first 20 himself to lead a Valiant attack that connected on 13 of 25 shots (52.0 percent), but the Valiants allowed the Golden Eagles to stay in the game thanks to 11 turnovers that SJC converted into 16 points.
The Valiants held their biggest lead of the half at 29-21 after a Quinlan three with 7:38 left, but Saint Joseph's closed the stanza on a 16-4 run to take a 37-33 lead into intermission.
Manhattanville came out strong to begin the second half, beginning with a Haggerty three on the opening possession to start a 12-2 run that put the Valiants up 45-39 with 16:40 remaining. The Valiants never relinquished their lead after that points, with the advantage reaching double figures for the first time on a jumper from junior
Chris Ayson (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) with 9:41 left to make the score 60-50.
The lead grew to as many as 17 (75-58) on an Arena layup with 3:44 on the clock, as the team was able to coast its way to a fourth victory of the season.
The Valiants shot a sizzling 66.7 percent (20 of 30) from the field in the second half on the way to the win, and also outscored SJC 32-12 in the paint while receiving a 15-4 edge in points off the bench.
Manhattanville will ring in the New Year as well as start MAC Freedom play on Wednesday, when the Valiants travel to Misericordia University for an 8 p.m. tipoff against the Cougars.
