ST. DAVIDS, PA. – With seven seconds remaining in regulation, the Valiants set up a play and get a decent look at the basket but were unable to sink the potential game-winner. The Manhattanville College men's basketball team played a full 40 minutes, whistle-to-whistle, but were unfortunately unable to defeated Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom foe Eastern University on the road Saturday afternoon, Feb. 9, as the Valiants fell to the Eagles by a score of 89-88.
Manhattanville (9-14, 3-9 MACF) and Eastern (15-8, 9-3 MACF) battled back and forth all day long, as the two squads traded the lead a combined 20 times and were tied a total of five times. The Eagles led by as many as eight points on several occasions in the first half and as late as 6:32 remaining until the break at 32-24. From that point, the Valiants went on a 13-2 run to take a 37-35 lead with 3:29 remaining. The score was tied two more times following that before sophomore
Sean Smith, Jr. (Yonkers, N.Y./Sacred Heart), nailed a big three-pointer with 00:13 left in the half and Manhattanville took a 43-42 lead into the half.
The second half was more of the same as the Valiants actually took as large as a six-point lead at 17:28 following a three-pointer from sophomore
Mike Granda (Monroe Township, N.J./St. Joseph) to give them a 52-46 advantage. Eastern eventually got back into the game and eventually took an eight-point lead at 72-63 with 9:32 remaining. Manhattanville trimmed into that lead over the next five minutes and was once again ahead by one at 77-76 with just 4:54 left following a layup from junior
JoJo Cobbs (Elmsford, N.Y./Briarcliff).
With 3:29 remaining and the Valiants trailing by four, freshman
Jake Dunn (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell), Granda and Cobbs combined to put the Valiants up by two at 88-86 with just 00:18 remaining. Unfortunately, Eastern nailed a three with 00:09 on the clock and although Cobbs had a good look, the Eagles came away with the win.
Highlights:
- Granda finished with a game-high-tying and career-best 29 points on 9-of-15 from the floor, including 8-of-13 from beyond the arc. He added five assists.
- Smith also poured in a game-best-tying 29 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. He was 5-of-7 from long range.
- Cobbs finished with 15 points.
Manhattanville will return to the court for the final regular-season home game of the year. The Valiants host Farleigh Dickinson University-Florham on Senior Night this Tuesday, Feb. 12, with tipoff scheduled for 8:00 p.m. The game vs. the Red Devils will also be a white out and fans are encouraged to wear white.
