PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College men's basketball team battled all night long with Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom foe Delaware Valley University, but the visiting Aggies came out on top over the Valiants Saturday, Jan. 26, by a score of 83-69 despite another 20-plus-point performance by sophomore
Sean Smith, Jr. (Yonkers, N.Y./Sacred Heart)
Manhattanville (8-11, 2-6 MACF) was riding high heading into the night following a strong 12-point victory at FDU-Florham this past Wednesday, Jan. 23, but Delaware Valley (10-9, 6-2 MACF) came into Kennedy Gymnasium as winners of three straight, and extended that streak to four consecutive victories with the win over the Valiants.
Smith was once again the focal point of the offense for Manhattanville as the sophomore finished the night with 24 points on 9-of-17 from the floor to go along with eight rebounds and a pair of assists. Junior
JoJo Cobbs (Elmsford, N.Y./Briarcliff) was the next-highest scorer for the Valiants with 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Sophomore
Mike Granda (Monroe Township, N.J./St. Joseph) finished with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from long-range, while rookie
Matt Bielenda (Wethersfield, Conn./Xavier) saw 21 minutes and registered five points, six rebounds and six assists. The Aggies' Lybrant Robinson was the game's top scorer, as he finished with 35 points.
The first half started out well for Manhattanville, as the home squad remained neck-and-neck with DelVal before jumping out to a 9-0 run following a pair of three-pointers from Smith and one from Bielenda. The Valiants led by eight points at 24-16 with 9:51 remaining until the half, and again at 26-18 following a layup from freshman
Petey Galgano (New Rochelle, N.Y./Wilbraham & Monson Academy (Mass.)) at 9:29.
The game remained that way for a few minutes until the Aggies closed out the half on an 18-8 run to take a six-point, 44-39 lead into the break. The second half belonged to Delaware Valley as the Aggies stretched out their lead to 14 points for the 83-69 win.
Manhattanville will look to bounce back this Wednesday night, Jan. 30, in another MAC Freedom contest. The Valiants travel to Wilkes-Barre, Pa., to face Wilkes University for an 8:00 p.m. tip.
