PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College men's basketball team dropped its first game of the 2017-18 season on Sunday afternoon, falling to Wesleyan (Conn.) University by a 78-44 margin in non-conference action at Kennedy Gymnasium.
 
Seniors Alex Tuci (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) and Brian Haggerty (Bayside, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) tied for the team lead with nine points apiece to lead Manhattanville (3-1), which saw its season-opening three-game winning streak halted. Four players reached double figures for undefeated Wesleyan (4-0), led by Antone Walker with a game-high 16 points and Jordan Bonner with 14.
 
The afternoon started well for the home team, as senior Timmy Quinlan (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's Boys) sunk a three-pointer and Manhattanville forced a quick Wesleyan timeout after ratting off the game's first seven points in 1:24 of action. However, the Cardinals responded with a big run of their own, scoring 13 straight points and 18 of the next 21 to take an 18-10 lead with 10:22 left in the opening half.
 
The Valiants whittled the lead down to three points after a Haggerty three made the score 19-16 with 7:13 left in the half, but Wesleyan ended the stanza on a 14-7 run to take a 33-23 lead at the half. The home team hit on only 8-of-25 attempts (32.0 percent) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, while the visitors connected at a 42.3 percent (11 of 26) clip.
 
Manhattanville hung around in the opening minutes of the second half before a 14-0 run helped seal the game for the visitors.
 
The Valiants struggled to find the basket all day long, finishing 15-of-57 (26.3 percent) from the field, including a 6-of-28 (21.4 percent) mark from beyond the arc. The Cardinals shot a sizzling 60.0 percent from the field in the second half to finish the game at 51.0 percent (26 of 51).
 
Manhattanville will look to get back into the win column on Thursday night, when the Valiants host neighboring Purchase College in the Battle of Anderson Hill Road beginning at 8 p.m.