PURCHASE, N.Y. – Manhattanville College was unable to slow down FDU-Florham in a high-scoring MAC Freedom men's basketball matchup on Tuesday night, as the Devils shot 55.7 percent from the field on the way to a 90-82 win over the Valiants at Kennedy Gym.
 
Multiple Valiants had excellent nights for Manhattanville (8-16, 4-9 MAC Freedom) in the loss, led by junior Alex Tuci (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) with a career-high 31 points on 13-of-25 shooting along with a game-high 15 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Senior Charles Nardone (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) and freshman JoJo Cobbs (Elmsford, N.Y./Briarcliff) both added 15 points each, while junior Dom Arena (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) matched his career high with 11 assists to go with seven points.
 
Anthony Mitchell led FDU-Florham (7-17, 4-9 MAC Freedom) with 22 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals. Rajaan Dixon chipped in 18 points and six assists, while Donte Ali added a double-double of 14 points and 13 boards.
 
The first half was an entertaining display of shooting, as the two teams combined to shoot 56.2 percent (36-of-64) from the field. Tuci erupted for 22 first-half points for the Valiants, hitting 10-of-14 shots from the field to lead a Valiant offense that connected on 18-of-30 field-goal attempts (60.0 percent). However, the Devils shot 52.9 percent (18 of 34) and also hit six of their nine attempts from long range to take a 44-40 lead into the half.
 
Manhattanville jumped out to an 18-9 lead over the first 6:44 of the contest, as Tuci scored 14 of the Valiants' 18 points. But FDU came back with a 17-7 run of its own to take a 26-25 lead, and the lead did not grow more than two for either side until a Mitchell three in the waning seconds put the Devils up by four at the half.
 
The Valiants closed to within one point early in the second half, when back-to-back buckets from Arena capped a 12-3 run that also featured a three-point play from freshman Dwayne Frazier (Miami, Fla./The Sagemont School) and a nice layup from sophomore Michael Ryan (Bronx, N.Y./Arlington). But FDU had a quick and decisive answer, as 12 straight points put the Devils up 67-54 with 9:23 remaining.
 
Manhattanville attempted to chip away at the lead, outscoring FDU-Florham 21-8 down the stretch, but the team could not get any closer than eight after a Tuci three at the buzzer finished off the scoring.
 
After a hot first half, Manhattanville shot 15-of-35 (42.9 percent) in the second half to finish at 50.8 percent (33 of 65) for the night. FDU-Florham ended the evening shooting 55.7 percent (34 of 61) from the field, including a red-hot 11 of 17 (64.7 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
Manhattanville will close out the 2016-17 season on Saturday, when the Valiants host Misericordia University for Senior Day beginning at 3 p.m.