PURCHASE, NY – Sophomore Sean Smith, Jr. (Yonkers, N.Y./Sacred Heart) and freshman Connor Yetman (Sydney, Australia/The Scots College (H.S.)) both posted double-doubles as the Manhattanville College men's basketball team put up 63 first-half points en route to a 103-82 victory over the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) Bears from Kennedy Gymnasium on Friday night, Nov. 16, sending them to the championship game of the sixth annual AJ Buchanan Classic.

Smith recorded game-highs with 24 points and 12 rebounds for Manhattanville (2-0), while Yetman added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Mike Ryan (Bronx, N.Y./Arlington) scored a career-high 10 points and was joined in double figures by junior JoJo Cobbs (Elmsford, N.Y./Briarcliff) and sophomore Mike Granda (Monroe Township, N.J./St. Joseph), who scored 11 and 12 points apiece, respectively. In all, nine Valiants finished with at least seven points. Kavan Meiner posted a double-double of his own with 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead St. Joseph's-Brooklyn (0-1).

Manhattanville made six of its first eight shots as it jumped out to an 18-6 lead less than five minutes into the game. After going scoreless for 1:20, the Valiants made six of their next eight shots, opening a 33-13 lead at 10:24 of the half, forcing a St. Joseph's timeout. The Valiants led by at least 20 the rest of the half, expanding their lead to as much as 33, before the Bears trimmed the deficit to 63-33 at the half. Smith Jr. finished the half with 13 points and seven rebounds, while Yetman grabbed nine rebounds and Ryan and freshman Jake Dunn (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) added eight points apiece on a combined seven-for-nine performance from the field.

While the Bears did manage to cut the deficit to 84-67 with 6:56 remaining, Manhattanville's balance proved to be too much, as the Valiants quickly pushed the lead back over 20 points, outscoring St. Joseph's 19-15 the remainder of the game. Smith, Cobbs, Yetman, and freshman Matt Bielenda (Wethersfield, Conn./Xavier) all had at least five second-half points. The Valiants posted back-to-back games surpassing 100 points for the first time since December 2005, head coach Pat Scanlon's then-second year at the helm.

Manhattanville concludes the 2018 AJ Buchanan Classic tomorrow, Nov. 17, when it hosts the Oglethorpe University Stormy Petrels in the Championship Game at 3 p.m. Oglethorpe advanced with an 81-70 win over the Sage College Gators in the first game of the evening Friday night. The Valiants will be seeking their second straight title in the event, after falling in the title game three times in the event's first four installments from 2012-2015.