DALLAS, Pa. – Misericordia University shot 50 percent from beyond the arc and used several big runs to outlast the Manhattanville College men's basketball team in an 83-54 victory for the Cougars in both teams' MAC Freedom opener on Wednesday night at the Anderson Center.
 
Junior Alex Tuci (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) led Manhattanville (4-8, 0-1 MAC Freedom) with 17 points and eight rebounds to go with two blocks and two steals, and he was followed close behind by classmate Brian Haggerty (Bayside, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) with 16 points and four boards. Senior Charles Nardone (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) hauled in a career-high 10 rebounds as well to lead the Valiants.
 
Misericordia (10-2, 1-0 MAC Freedom), which entered the night 13th in Division III by averaging over 90 points per game this season,  received a team-high 15 points from Jason Kenny as well as 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds from Tony Harding in the win.
 
Manhattanville hung with the Cougars for the first 11-plus minutes before Misericordia used a huge 25-5 run late in the opening half to take firm control of the contest. The Cougars hit 10-of-15 shots from the field (including 5-of-6 from long range) and held the Valiants to 2-of-10 shooting during the run, which turned a 16-13 lead into a 41-18 advantage with 1:22 left in the half.
 
The Cougars only turned the ball over once in the opening 20 minutes and connected on 7-of-15 attempts from beyond the arc on the way to a 41-20 halftime lead.
 
Following a layup by Tuci to end the first half, Manhattanville came out with eight straight points to start the second stanza, ending the run with a layup and three-pointer by Haggerty. Another Haggerty three and an old-fashioned three-point play from Tuci continued the stretch of good play and got the visitors within 10 points at 45-35 with 17:19 left. However, the Valiants could not keep up the momentum, and a 14-1 run by Misericordia regained the Cougars' big lead that carried them the rest of the night.
 
The Cougars did much of their damage from beyond the arc, hitting 14-of-28 shots from long range and only 16-of-41 from inside the arc to finish at 43.5 percent shooting from the field for the night. Manhattanville ended the evening shooting 33.3 percent (20 of 60) from the field.
 
Manhattanville will continue MAC Freedom action on Saturday afternoon, when the Valiants return home to host Wilkes University beginning at 3 p.m.