PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College men's basketball team shook off a tough first half and dominated the second en route to the 77-55 victory over Skyline Conference opponent Maritime College tonight, Tuesday, Feb. 18. The Valiants outscored the Privateers 55-24 in the second. Additionally, prior to the start of the night's contest, Manhattanville honored graduating seniors JoJo Cobbs (Elmsford, N.Y./Briarcliff) and Cory Madden (Woodside, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy Memorial), as well as assistant coach Andre Pennicooke and team manager Dan Hancock.
 
The Valiants (15-9, 10-5 Skyline) picked up their 15th victory of the season, their most since 2008-09 when they won the Freedom Conference co-regular-season title. Manhattanville had a tough time in the first half, shooting just 30.0 percent (9-of-30) from the floor to the Privateers' (10-14, 6-9 Skyline) 44.8 percent performance. However, the Valiants caught fire in the second half and shot 22-of-30 (73.3 percent) from the field, including 9-of-14 (64.3 percent) from beyond the arc as they matched Maritime's total score (55) in just 20 minutes.
 
Despite the fact that it was senior night, rookie Khari Taylor (Bronx, N.Y./St. Raymond) was not to be outshined. The freshman forward poured in a season-best and game-high-tying 18 points on a nearly perfect 8-of-9 shooting performance to go with a pair of made free throws. He also pulled down seven boards. Sophomore sharpshooter Jake Dunn (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) also got hot in the second and finished the night with 18 points as well, going 6-of-10 from the floor, including 5-of-6 from three. Cobbs finished with a strong night overall, chipping in 10 points to go with seven rebounds and a game-best and career-high-tying six assists.
 
Manhattanville started out the second half on an 11-2 run to make it 35-33 Maritime with just over 15 minutes remaining. The Valiants eventually tied it up at 39-39 with 13:03 on the clock thanks to a three by Dunn, part of a 12-0 run that gave them a nine-point lead – Dunn scored eight of those 12 points, with Taylor notching the other four. To close out the game, Manhattanville went on another 12-0 run for the 22-point victory. The home squad held the Privateers off the board for almost the final five minutes of the game.
 
With the win, coupled with a College at Old Westbury loss tonight, the Valiants are now tied for third place in the Skyline standings. Manhattanville has just its regular-season finale remaining before the conference tournament and the Valiants will travel down to Bronxville, N.Y. to face Sarah Lawrence College on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 2:00 p.m. If Manhattanville defeats the Gryphons, then the No. 3 seed in the tournament is secured regardless of what Old Westbury does against St. Joseph's College-Brooklyn on Saturday as well, as the Valiants defeated the Panthers in their lone head-to-head matchup earlier this season.