Men's Basketball | 2/6/2019 10:19:00 PM

Box Score PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College men's basketball team battled all night long with a tough DeSales University squad, but was unable to overcome the visiting Bulldogs and dropped a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom contest Wednesday night, Feb. 6, at Kennedy Gymnasium by a score of 91-83.
 
The Valiants (9-13, 3-10 MACF) started out the game blazing fast and jumped out to a 7-0 lead over DeSales (16-6, 9-2 MACF) in the first 1:15 of the game – junior JoJo Cobbs (Elmsford, N.Y./Briarcliff) scored all seven points with a three to open followed by a pair of fastbreak layups. From then on, the Bulldogs inched back into the contest and the two conference foes battled back and forth throughout the rest of the first half.
 
Manhattanville held a slim two-point lead at 36-34 with 7:07 remaining until the break, but the Bulldogs proceeded to go on an 8-0 to take a six-point lead at 42-36 with 4:26 left. Freshman Matt Bielenda (Wethersfield, Conn./Xavier) hit a pair of free throws at 1:50 to cut the lead in half, but DeSales closed out the half with a 46-40 lead.
 
The Bulldogs extended their lead in the second half and held a commanding 11-point advantage at 61-50 with 15:34 remaining in the game. A 10-0 run for the Valiants changed that, and the game was back to a nail-biter at 61-60 with 12:31 remaining. Rookie Petey Galgano (New Rochelle, N.Y./Wilbraham & Monson Academy (Mass.)) kicked off the run with a jumper at 15:07, and then Cobbs sank a pair from the line at 14:15. A monster block by freshman Chris Brown (Miami, Fla./Coral Gables Senior) eventually led to a fastbreak layup from Cobbs at 13:15. Bielenda then split his free throws before classmate Jake Dunn (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) nailed a three-pointer to close out the run and bring his squad to within one.
 
DeSales took control once again as the visitors stretched their lead back out to 10 at 75-65 with 7:59 left, but the Valiants went on a 10-2 run of their own to close the game to just two once again at 77-75 with 5:40 remaining. Cobbs started with a pair of free throws at 7:44 and then Brown dropped in a layin. Following a Bulldog basket and a missed Manhattanville attempt, Galgano picked up a well-timed steal to lead to a big three from Cobbs. Bielenda took matters into his own hands to close the run, jumping out on the break and sinking a layup with defenders all over him – a foul was called and he finished the play with three points the old fashioned way. Less than two minutes later, with Manhattanville down by four, Cobbs followed up his own miss by crashing the boards and tipping in the rebound to make it a 79-77 game with 4:12 remaining.
 
Unfortunately, with the Valiants in foul trouble, the Bulldogs converted on their opportunities at the line down the stretch and were able to come away with the 91-83 victory.
 
Highlights:
- Cobbs finished with a game-high 25 points, including going 3-of-6 from three.
- Sophomore Sean Smith, Jr. (Yonkers, N.Y./Sacred Heart), registered 19 points, six boards, four assists and three steals. He was also 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.
- Dunn ended the night with 13 points.
 
Manhattanville returns to the court this weekend for a road MAC Freedom contest at Eastern University this Saturday, Feb. 9. The Valiants and Eagles are scheduled to tip off at 3:00 p.m.